


tonight I feel like more

by DeadCaffeineJunkie



Series: if i have to switch the lights off, i wanna switch them off with you [2]
Category: Generation Kill
Genre: Begging, Blow Jobs, Come as Lube, DADT, Dirty Talk, Double Penetration, Explicit Language, Fingering, Light Dom/sub, M/M, Masturbation, Navigating A Threeway, Phone Sex, Safewords, Slut Shaming, Sweetness, Threesome - M/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-14 18:15:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 23,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29300271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeadCaffeineJunkie/pseuds/DeadCaffeineJunkie
Summary: Brad fantasised about a threesome last time they had sex, Ray just wants to please him and Nate's at the top of Brad's phone list.AKA, everyone has phone conversations and then Ray gets absolutely wrecked
Relationships: Brad Colbert/Nate Fick/Ray Person, Brad Colbert/Ray Person
Series: if i have to switch the lights off, i wanna switch them off with you [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2151984
Comments: 14
Kudos: 29





	tonight I feel like more

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from 'Digital Bath' by Deftones

“Fick speaking.”

“Hey ‘Fick speaking’, this is Brad speaking.” 

Nate heard Brad’s smile over the phone and it made his own mouth quirk. “Brad, always a pleasure.”

“Well, that’s actually what I was calling about.”

\--

Ray had immediately nodded his consent to a suggestion Brad had made while running his mouth in some half-serious dirty talk, and it had broken Brad for a moment; Ray really was willing to give Brad anything he wanted to see him happy. 

Okay, it wasn’t entirely altruistic; whenever Ray agreed to try whatever weird, kinky thing Brad threw his way he usually ended up exhausted and shaking but blissed out, but Brad still hadn’t known even the small things that Ray was into.

The reason Brad had never stopped to dig in to what Ray liked was because Ray was always so vocally enthusiastic about everything Brad suggested. Brad hadn’t realised he’d always led on the suggestions, but he couldn’t help it. 

All that time he’d been in country with Ray beside him: living elbow to elbow in the Humvee; watching him eat and drink like something out of a porno, knowing what it looked like when Ray was a mess because he had Brad’s come dripping out of his mouth instead of an MRE milkshake; knowing how it felt to fuck him.

Being a Marine was often a lot of hurry up and wait, and while Brad was always focused on the job, in those down times… 

In those down times he had the time to fantasise. All the things he’d thought about doing with Ray, to Ray. 

If he’d thought that doing some of it, parts of it, when they were back home would be enough, he was wrong. Once his hands had felt the heat of Ray’s skin and he’d seen the flush on his face, how glassy and unfocused his eyes went just after he came, he’d just wanted more. 

He wanted to see if he could make Ray look like that, if he could bring Ray to that state again with the other things he thought about doing; if Ray’s response ever changed, if it was ever different, if he’d ever get used to it. 

He never got used to it. 

He could make Ray come hard, had himself coming harder, and there was always the sweet afterglow of a job well done before he wondered - how hard would Ray come the next time? Did Ray have any of his already tiny mind left to lose and would Brad’s next idea make him lose the rest of it?

He’d known Ray for 4 or 5 years now and he still felt like he was making up for lost time. He hadn’t acted on the crackling tension that had been between them in Afghanistan – there was a lack of opportunity and the fact that Brad had been responsible for him – but afterwards was another matter. 

They’d had months together after Afghanistan, hanging around California together, and they’d wasted time dancing around each other at first. There was DADT, where Brad especially feared for his career, and then the fact that he was still conflicted about his position of authority over Ray; they might have been out of Afghanistan, but over and above Brad’s crush on his RTO was the fact that they worked so well together. 

Ray was chaotic, like standing in the middle of a shamal; annoying, like the blisters on your feet from the boot of your MOPP suit, though not as annoying as opening your MRE and finding yet another peanut butter spread. 

In Afghanistan he’d been a vibrating little livewire, even with the weight of radio equipment on his back. When he was keeping himself awake with substance abuse he wouldn’t shut up, couldn’t shut up, and even when he wasn’t high he still ran his mouth as though he was. 

But he was a prodigy with radio equipment, especially the crappy ancient stuff they’d been given. The team liked to joke that there was something wrong with Ray’s brain, and maybe there was, but it was a steel trap when it came to frequencies, channels, radio schematics and song lyrics. He could make the team smile when it felt like doing so was impossible. 

Brad wasn’t about to stop working with the best RTO in the business, even for the sake of a relationship with him, not when having the best Marines on his team increased all their chances of getting out of a war zone alive. 

They were Recon Marines though, and Ray had always watched Brad; he’d seen Brad watching him. Even though he couldn’t be entirely sure that Brad felt anything for him, he’d never been backwards about being forwards and he’d broached the subject first by boldly climbing into Brad’s lap. 

He’d put himself out there, all big eyes uncertain under his bravado, one hand on Brad’s chest, and Brad had only been able to move to kiss him, to take away the uncharacteristic trepidation in Ray’s face. 

They’d had those few months together, and then they’d deployed to Iraq. 

They knew they’d have to keep their hands to themselves in country, but in all honesty the shit that they’d had to put up with, the lack of basic supplies, orders that made no sense, officers with them in the field and the very fact that they were driving through Iraq in Humvees instead of working as typical Recon marines, all of it kept them too busy to even think about doing anything. 

They’d managed to grab a moment or two here or there, behind a berm or pressed together through necessity in a grave, but nothing substantial. Even so, it was enough to have those moments and the small ones where they were seated side by side, singing to stay awake and working with each other. 

It had maybe strengthened the parts of their relationship that weren’t based on sex, but it just meant that all bets were off when they got home. 

Brad had been worried about Ray ever since he’d tackled Rudy. He’d been prepared to take things slow when they returned from Iraq, but Ray hadn’t; he’d jumped Brad in the first bathroom stall they’d come across and it had been quick and dirty and so good after pretending they didn’t have this for two months. 

The quickie in the bathroom had started something raw and wild between them, and Brad couldn’t remember the last time he’d had so much adventurous sex, even with the fiancée he tried not to think about. 

It hurt him to realise that he’d neglected Ray for so long. He was more experienced than Ray at this kind of thing, considering that Ray hadn’t done anything more than suck cock a couple of times before he’d met Brad, and they’d just fallen into letting Brad take the lead. 

Ray had just wanted something as simple as Brad’s hands touching him, in him, and Brad hadn’t known that was a thing for him. He’d felt guilty and he’d resolved to make it up to Ray and soon. 

And then Ray had brought up the little fantasy Brad had mentioned, how he’d been talking about getting someone else in to watch Ray get fucked, and Brad had found it too hot to decline. 

He still felt guilty that yet again they weren’t taking the time to do something that Ray suggested, but Ray definitely wasn’t complaining and insisted that this was absolutely something that he wanted too. 

Ray, in fact, was the one to bring the whole thing up when they weren’t fallen all over each other post-coitus in bed. 

Brad hadn’t realised Ray had stolen his phone until said thief plopped himself down on the couch seat beside him, head in Brad’s lap, his legs dangling over the armrest; the missing phone was in his hands and in danger of being dropped on Ray’s face with the way he held it up.

“I love Poke, but I don’t think he’d be into it.” He said, mock-heartbroken, unprompted and out of nowhere. 

“What?” Brad asked with fond irritation in his tone, partly from Ray’s magpie tendencies but mostly because he had to shift to better seat Ray comfortably in his lap. 

“I’d be up for asking Rudy, because yes, but I don’t think he’s in the country right now; isn’t he in Oz or something?” 

“You’re on the same mailing list as I am, Ray.” Brad reminded him.

“Kocher, Pappy, Gunny Wynn, yep; don’t slut shame me Brad, but I’d be into doing it with everyone.” 

The penny dropped and Brad groaned, much like he was in pain. “Ray, no.”

Ray ignored him and kept scrolling through Brad’s phone. “But we did say whoever was on top of your phone list from Bravo and that’s one Lieutenant Nathaniel Fick.” 

“Ray, we’re not asking Nate into bed with us.” 

“Why not?” 

Brad couldn’t believe that one of the things he loved about Ray was how unpredictable he kept life when things like this happened. “I don’t even know where to begin with that question.” 

Ray was unruffled. “I think he’d be down for it.”

Brad didn’t have the time to say anything before Ray was talking again. 

“He already knows about us and he was cool about it that time in Iraq.” 

\--

Nate was tired. Just tired; leading his men through Iraq at the point of the invasion wasn’t as he’d envisioned. The higher-ups were incompetent, their orders were incomprehensible, the general lack of information and wasted chances to gather intel were frustrating and the disappointment was breaking his heart. 

He thanked God every day for giving him Mike Wynn at his right hand. Mike had a wealth of experience and, unlike his contemporaries, Nate wasn’t above mining that. He honestly didn’t know how he’d be able to get through this deployment without his Gunny. 

Nate normally did a walk through the Humvees before coming back to his own truck to take his turn at trying to catch some infrequent sleep; another thing that he’d be missing if not for Mike shepherding him into his grave. 

With one or two Marines from each team on watch as a matter of course, he rarely came across any problems; he mostly walked through to settle his own mind and to give him a chance to check in on his guys, so he was surprised when he heard something that sounded like a problem coming from someone’s grave. 

It was strange in the first place because it was some way away from the closest Humvee – 2-1 Alpha – and comparatively hidden. That wasn’t necessarily unusual, not for guys who wanted some private time to themselves, but the sound he heard from it put him on immediate alert. 

He would have recognised the breathless little cut off gasp of “Brad, please-” anywhere – he didn’t think anyone in the entire platoon would be able to mistake Ray Person’s voice for anyone else. 

Before he had time to wonder what the hell he was hearing, he caught what could only be Brad’s voice answering in a low, annoyed hiss. “Shut up.” 

He strode over to the grave and was dismayed to find Brad lying on top of Ray, who had half his MOPP suit wrestled off and one of Brad’s hand down his pants; the other hand was pressed over Ray’s mouth. 

Nate stood there in complete shock for a moment before Ray caught sight of him, his eyes wide and terrified.

“Sergeant Colbert!” Nate snapped, his stomach clenched in fury and nausea. Brad practically leapt away from Ray, kneeling over him in the grave and looking up at Nate with a white-faced look of panic. “Get the fuck off that Marine!” Nate snarled. 

Brad opened his mouth like he was about to speak but was too slow for Ray and his quick-draw mouth. 

“LT, this isn’t what it looks like!” He protested, hands in the air like Nate was holding a gun on him. 

Nate realised his hand really was resting on his gun; he didn’t particularly feel like moving it given what he was seeing. “Out of the grave, Sergeant.” He ordered; he felt betrayed and sick that he’d been so wrong about Brad and that Ray had to pay the price for his blind spot. 

Brad, mute, made as if to get out, but Ray reached out and yanked him back in by the leg of his MOPP suit. “I’m not being coerced, forced or pressured into anything LT, and neither is Brad for that matter, and if this is some kind of homophobic Alpha male, DADT bullshit you can fuck off and kick us out through the proper channels instead of fragging us right here.” 

He was sparking with fury but Nate could see how scared he was underneath it, his grip at the hip of Brad’s trousers white-knuckled. This wasn’t the fear that Nate might shoot them, but fear for his career. Or for _Brad’s_ career.

He realised that when he’d interrupted them before, Ray hadn’t looked at him in fear because he was being assaulted; he’d been scared because they’d been found out. 

Nate was changing gears, but slowly enough – it was a shock, okay – that Brad had time to intervene. 

“This… it’s consensual, Sir.” He said, his voice appearing as calm as it ever was, but he reached down and took Ray’s hand in his own. “I wouldn’t- I’d never-” 

It was unusual to hear Brad stumble over his words, and Nate knew he’d just hurt him badly by even suggesting that his Sergeant would do anything to hurt the men under his command. To hurt his RTO.

More than that though was the way Brad - who was always so self-contained and had been vocal about his poor opinion of relationships – gripped Ray’s hand, his long, square fingers not quite dwarfing Ray’s more nimble ones. How Brad’s thumb was moving against the back of Ray’s hand in a way that he would have called nervous if it had been anyone else. 

There was something in that gesture, instinctively giving and taking reassurance, that told Nate this was more serious than just two horny guys working things out with each other away from home. 

He moved his hand from his gun and saw his two Marines marginally relax. 

He studied the pair of them, Brad stoic, Ray defiant. He thought about how difficult this must be for them, for any gay Marine in active duty, on deployment, fighting for their country in a military that didn’t even want to acknowledge them; he would know. 

“You have to be more careful about this, guys.” Nate said eventually, and saw the tension he hadn’t realised was still there finally ease out. “I won’t say anything, but I can’t speak for anyone else.” 

“Yessir.” 

“Yes Sir.”

Nate nodded to them, wordlessly conveying the severity of his warning, before walking away as though he’d never seen anything. 

\--

“Just because he didn’t bust us for being together in Iraq, doesn’t mean that he’d want to-”

“-to what? See how much I love taking dick? How I would’ve shut up in Iraq if I’d just had a cock up my ass? You don't think he'd wanna watch me squirming on your fingers, how easy I get, how I take it like a whore? Isn’t that what you said? I remember that’s what you said.” 

In the part of his mind that wasn’t shorting out on the sudden dirty talk and the way Ray had turned his head to speak right up against Brad’s covered cock, Brad was impressed again at Ray’s steel-trap mind; it had captured the words that Brad had barely thought about before he’d said them in the heat of the moment, while under ‘duress’ himself, and had carefully kept them for later. 

And he’d done that because he’d wanted to bring them up later on to try and implement a plan that would see Brad’s fantasy brought to life and Brad didn’t know why he deserved anyone who thought as much about him as Ray did. 

He brought one hand down and briefly rubbed his thumb against the pulse point in Ray’s throat before sliding his fingers into Ray’s hair and cradling the back of his head. He scrubbed his fingers there against Ray’s scalp for a second, drawing a low happy sound from him. 

“I’ll talk to Nate.” He decided, not sure how he felt about the fact that this was his idea and Ray still had to talk him into it. 

He rubbed his thumb against Ray’s jawline fondly and then slipped it into Ray’s mouth. “Now, let me see about this hand fetish you’ve got. I think I said something about that too.” 

\--

“Ray has a crush on you.” 

Well, Nate hadn’t been expecting that. Brad went on before he could do more than huff a surprised and somewhat incredulous laugh. 

“Well, actually, he seems to have a crush on most of Bravo, but he has a crush on you specifically.”

“Is this going anywhere, Sergeant?” Nate asked, not sure if he actually wanted to find out. 

Of course he’d known that Brad and Ray were together, or had something together anyway. Brad and Ray had been increasingly less subtle about it since Iraq, since all three of them had paddled out. Nate had been fairly sure Ray was reaching his limit with the United States Marine Corps, and for his own part, Nate didn’t think he could face being stuck between his men and his superiors anymore. 

Brad had been the surprise though; his adoptive parents weren’t military, but it still seemed like serving was in his blood. Nate didn’t know if Brad had just had his fill, if command’s misuse of the men in Iraq had soured things for him, if it was DADT making him keep a huge part of his life suppressed or if it was just that he’d wanted to be with Ray more than he’d wanted to stay in the Marines. 

Whatever had driven Brad’s decision, he seemed happy enough about it. He was working with motorbikes now; customisation, repair, even giving lessons here and there. The satisfaction in his voice whenever Nate talked to him about his new career was enough that Nate didn’t worry.

For his part, he was waiting for term to start for his new course at university; poli-sci with a minor in sociology. Brad thought it was funny that Nate seemed more nervous about going back to school than he had at any time during OIF. 

He didn’t actually speak to Ray much, but he got the impression that Ray was still trying to figure things out. Judging by the tales Brad regaled him with, Ray had been working a few odd jobs here and there, mostly part-time, mostly in the service industry, nothing that seemed able to hold his attention for more than a few months at a time.

Brad didn’t seem worried about Ray, but Nate still felt concerned in the distant way that he felt concern for all his men, regardless of the fact that he was no longer their commanding officer. He still struggled not to refer to them by rank sometimes though, not that this quirk didn’t go both ways. He’d always be the LT to his guys. 

“That actually depends on you, LT.” Brad answered, case in point. 

“Elaborate.” 

Brad sighed quietly and Nate suddenly realised that the tone he’d been picking up in Brad’s voice was nervousness – he hadn’t thought Brad was capable of being nervous. 

“We trust you, Nate. You didn’t do anything when you found us in a… compromising position back in Iraq. I know that we were lucky to have you there.”

Nate caught the sound of Brad moving about and realised he was _pacing_ on the other side of the line. 

‘ _Fucking Ray._ ’ he heard Brad mutter to himself, before he was speaking again. “Ray and I wanted to know if you’d be interested in joining us. In bed.” He said, in as flat a tone as Nate had ever heard from him. 

That one question asked if Nate was even a little interested in men, if he would be interested in a threeway and if he’d be interested in a threeway involving Brad and Ray all in one – Nate was a little impressed in the part of his mind that wasn’t numb from shock. 

“I… don’t even know where to begin.” He stammered. 

“Yeah, I told Ray something similar when he brought it up.” 

“Ray brought this up?” Of course he had, of course it had been Ray. But there was a somewhat awkward silence on the other end of the phone for a moment. 

“Yeah, he brought it up. But only because I’d been talking about it, uhm, earlier. Under other… circumstances.” 

Nate didn’t want to know. He didn’t think he did anyway. Hell, maybe he did. Maybe he wanted to know in detail.

“And my name came up in this because…?” 

“Ray said it was because you’re at the top of my phone list.” Brad said, sardonic. “But that isn’t really why. I knew you wouldn’t be immature about it, I knew you’d just refuse and that would be that, we’d still be good. But it was worth taking the risk to ask you because we feel comfortable with you. And it could be good. Really good. We’d feel… safe… with you. You’re our LT.” 

Brad’s voice was low and a little uncomfortable and a lot vulnerable towards the end there, and Nate knew all of this was awkward for him. 

“I’ll need to, uh-” he paused, not sure what to say next. “I need to think about it.” He managed eventually, to the sound of Brad’s surprise at the other end. 

“I hadn’t expected that.” He said slowly, like he would startle Nate into changing his mind and outright refusing if he spoke with any force. 

“It’s not something I get asked every day.” Nate pointed out, wry. 

“No, it’s not that. I just, well- honestly Sir, I was under the impression that you were straight.”

“Yet you still asked me if I was interested in an exclusively masculine threesome?”

“I had trust that you would reject the offer gracefully. And it would make Ray shut up about asking me to talk to you about it.”

Nate laughed. “Well I’m sorry to disappoint you Brad, but I’m not straight. I felt for your situation with Ray back in Iraq, even though I couldn’t say anything about it.”

“Thank you Sir.” Brad said, after a beat. “I know that doesn’t mean you’d necessarily be interested in joining us.”

“It’s not my usual Friday night, no.” Nate agreed. “But I meant it when I said I’ll think about it.” 

“I’ll tell Ray, he won’t believe it.” Brad answered, and Nate was relieved to hear the levity in Brad’s voice again. If he decided to turn down the offer he knew things wouldn’t be weird between them.

“Give me a couple of days.” Nate asked. “I can’t promise anything, but I’ll give it the thought it deserves.” 

“It’s more than we could have asked from you, Nate. Thank you.” 

\--

His talk with Nate had maybe been the most excruciating conversation of his life, including the train wreck that had been his fiancée breaking up with him for his best friend. Brad had spoken to Ray about it, what Nate had said, and Ray had surprised Brad by spending the next few days nervous and jittery. He’d expected gleeful excitement, not this weird almost self-conscious tension. 

In the end, Brad threw him onto their bed, quite literally, and fucked the fretful energy out of him. He’d calmed down after that and settled into this weird simmer of impatient anticipation. Ray’s agitation was almost a good thing, because it stopped Brad being occupied with his own apprehensive expectancy. 

When Nate called two days later it was like a thunderstorm breaking the oppression of long, charged summer days. True to his Recon nature, Nate was on an intel gathering mission. 

“What did you want out of this? What does Ray want?” Nate was asking after some stilted, awkward pleasantries. 

“Whatever you’re willing to give.” Brad answered promptly. “We won’t ask you for anything you’re uncomfortable with.”

“I know.” Nate said, sounding utterly certain. “That trust you were talking about before works both ways.” Brad felt another wave of gratitude for whatever entity had allowed them to cross paths. “What did you have in mind? Had you thought that far?” 

“When we talked about it – when _I_ was talking about it – I was just spinning a fantasy, just talking. I guess I should tell you how Ray and I, how it works between us first for this to make sense.” 

Nate made a noise of agreement over the phone.

“So, I guess… first of all, Ray doesn’t like to top; it just doesn’t do it for him. But he loves to bottom and he really likes being dominated.” Brad had spoken to Ray about the fact that he’d need to tell Nate about this – Ray, true to form, said he’d found it kind of hot. It was awkward for Brad to bare himself, themselves, so openly to Nate, but it wasn’t like Nate had been the one to ask to join them.

“I’ve bottomed before but I prefer topping, so it works out. But I like to be in charge either way, I like taking that control.” 

“It makes you a good team leader.” Nate said, an edge of cheekiness in his voice that didn’t stop Brad from actually blushing. 

“Nate.” He groaned, discomfited. “Please don’t compare what I do in the bedroom to what I do at work ever again.” 

“I’m sorry Brad.” Nate said, not sounding sorry at all. “You were saying.” 

Oh god, he had been, hadn’t he. “Yes. So, I tell him what to do and he usually obeys without being a little shit. He likes it, well, we like it when I talk dirty, so I talk a lot while we’re…” he trailed off, wondering how they were going to actually get through a threesome if he couldn’t even say the word ‘fucking’. 

“And here I thought it would be Ray running his mouth off.” Nate commented drily. 

“Oh, he does. Not as much as you might expect; he even gets quiet. But he does. He begs so nicely.” Brad heard the click of Nate’s throat as he swallowed, and suddenly there was a charged tension between them.

“Yeah?” 

“Oh yeah.” 

There was a moment of silence that wasn’t as strained as Brad might have expected; he suddenly realised that there might actually be something between them.

“So, you were talking to Ray?” Nate continued, composure mostly back.

“I was. I said something about sharing him with someone. About inviting someone round to watch him take my fingers. I told him he looked like a whore, but he’s actually so gorgeous when he’s being good for me.” 

“Brad.” Nate ground out, sounding briefly pained. 

“Sorry.” Brad said immediately. “Was that too much? I’m sorry, it’s just how it happened.” 

“No, that’s… it’s okay.” Nate said thoughtfully. “Actually, maybe that would be a good idea, instead of jumping straight into things.” 

“What would?” 

“Phone sex.” Brad’s brain shorted out but Nate was still talking. “All three of us. On speakerphone maybe, so we could all hear. Get some idea of the dynamic between us before we try anything face-to-face.” 

“Ray’s out, at the moment.” Brad said when he managed to force his brain back into working mode and remembered the English language.

“We could set something up. Later, anyway.” Nate seemed to shake the weird air between them off. “So you suggested asking someone to watch the pair of you?” 

“Yeah, mostly.”

“And Ray was into that?” 

Brad was silent for a moment. He still felt guilty and somewhat in awe about the way Ray rolled with whatever Brad wanted. “Yeah.” He said, still quiet. “Ray’s pretty much into anything I talk about. He’s… he’s good like that.” ‘Good’ wasn’t really the right word, but it was the best Brad had at the moment. 

“But he wants to do this?” 

“Yeah, he’s into it. He’s very into it, he won’t shut up about it. He knows he doesn’t have to say yes to everything I suggest.” He just hadn’t said no to anything as of yet. Brad might worry about that if not for the fact that Ray demonstrably enjoyed what they did together. 

“I should talk to Ray too at some point.” 

“Of course.” Brad agreed. 

“Okay. And going back to what you want out of this, was it just… voyeurism? Or exhibitionism I suppose.” 

“Yes, initially, if you were comfortable with that.”

“But?” 

“But Ray said he’d like it if you were more involved. If you wanted to be.”

“I don’t bottom.” Nate said, unusually flustered for a moment. 

“That, uhm, shouldn’t be a problem.”

And he knew Brad preferred to top. There was a moment of silence again as Nate considered the implications, the possibilities. 

“Jesus.” He swore softly. 

“Yeah.”

“I definitely need to talk to Ray.” 

Brad laughed, suddenly struck by how surreal this conversation was. “Hey Nate; what do _you_ want out of this situation?” 

Nate was quiet, thinking that over, and Brad could hear him drumming his fingers on what he supposed was a counter top. 

“I guess something about the dom/sub dynamics appeals to something in us military types.” He started. “My last boyfriend was during college before I served in Afghanistan. I haven’t had the time or the space for a long-term boyfriend since then-” DADT rearing its ugly head again; Brad could relate. “-but I frequent a couple of clubs when I’m stateside. I don’t bottom, but I’ve been on both ends of the lifestyle. It’s good to feel looked after, but sometimes it’s nice to actually be in control of something.” 

Brad could understand that. Nate had been caught between the command and responsibility he had over his men and the helplessness of being commanded by brass. He could see how that could create the need to give up responsibility and the desire for authority at the same time.

“Maybe Ray and I could give you both those things.” He suggested gently.

There was a pause before Nate answered, a little wistfully. “That sounds good.” 

\--

Nate was just getting out of the shower when his phone started ringing and he lunged across the bed to get it still dressed in nothing but a towel. 

“Fick speaking.” He answered, as was habit.

“Hey, LT!” 

It was Ray, sounding effervescent and nervous and a little wound up – so, normal then.

“Hi Ray.” 

“I heard you had an interesting talk with Brad.” 

Nate could hear him vibrating in eagerness. Ray had always baffled Nate a little bit; he was irreverent and sometimes too blunt with his humour, but he was a good Marine and he’d performed admirably in Iraq given all the weight on his young shoulders. 

Nate was proud of him, the way he was proud of all his Marines, but no one else had broken the monotony and the strain of Nate’s command like Ray. 

“I did. I assume he told you I wanted to talk to you.” 

“Yep, about the steamy hot threesome we’re hopefully gonna have.” 

Nate caught the sound of Brad’s voice in the background, too far away for him to make out the words, and then the sound of impact and a yelp from Ray. 

“Fuck you, Brad!” he griped before audibly relocating to another room and closing the door behind him. “Sorry, LT. Brad says I shouldn’t pressure you into making any decisions, but he didn’t have to throw a shoe at me! You heard that, right? I’m being abused here Nate, you have to come rescue me.” 

Nate laughed down the phone, helpless under Ray’s barrage of words. “I’ve missed hearing you talk, Ray.” He said, fond.

There was silence at the other end of the line, and Nate couldn’t tell if it was pleased or just stunned. 

“I actually wanted to talk to you about this proposition.” Nate went on before the silence could turn awkward. 

“Oh yeah?” Ray asked, back to energetic curiosity. 

“Brad told me this was his idea?” 

“Yep. He acts like he’s a vanilla-missionary kind of guy, but he’s actually a filthy genius when it comes to kinky shit.” 

“And you’re comfortable with this?” 

“Hell yeah, are you kidding? How could I turn down being the centre of a Marine sandwich?” 

“You know you can though, right?” Nate asked, pressing. Even Brad had sounded a little unsure about how Ray truly felt regarding the situation. 

“You sound like Brad.” Ray said with a sigh. “I promise I’m into this LT, like, really, _really_ into it. I mean, have you seen yourself? And Brad? Don’t tell him that though. His big head won’t fit through the door. He’d overbalance on his bike.” 

Nate found himself laughing again and he could hear Ray grinning when he spoke next.

“I know I can say ‘no’ if I want to, Nate. I’ve got a safeword and everything.” 

“Yeah? What is it?” 

“Purple.” 

“…Ray, what-“ 

“Purple, LT! It’s never gonna get mistaken for something else; nothing rhymes with it.”

And great, now Nate was probably going to be up all night trying to find words that rhymed with purple. 

Also, who even was Ray Person? 

“Ray, you are a unique individual.”

“Careful with the flattery LT, or I’ll think you’re trying to get me into bed.” 

\--

Nate texted Brad (and Ray by proxy) over the next few days, trying to further solidify how this might work between them. They’d swapped safe words, things they were particularly into, things they didn’t really care about and things that were absolutely off the table. 

They were discovering that they were actually quite compatible. There was a lot of overlap between the things they enjoyed, and they were respectful of each other’s hard limits. 

They’d been talking about testing the waters with phone sex recently, negotiating what each party was willing to consent to and when it would be needed. 

Now that they had some boundaries and a plan in place, Nate was finding it easier to really think about what he’d been invited into. He’d never, at least consciously, looked at any man under his command while he’d been in Iraq; his professionalism wouldn’t let him.

Outside the AO though it was a different matter. Brad, with his stature and effortlessly Marine-hard body, was a dark blond and bright-blue eyed classic type of handsome. Attention couldn’t help but turn to him. He drew looks from girls _and_ guys wherever he went; Ray liked to say that half of Brad’s customer base were just there to ogle Brad, and the annoying thing was, he was probably right. 

Ray; now he was a different matter. 

He was short and scrawny, had been even before Iraq, and still was even though training left him with lean, corded muscle. He had a particular kind of attractiveness, one that was easily passed over at first glance; dark hair, huge eyes like some girl in a Japanese cartoon, dimples carved into his cheeks when he grinned, which was often. Really, the most attractive thing about him was his personality, his energy.

Now Nate was allowed to think about these men because he’d been invited to, and he’d been having dreams lately; dark and light, hard muscle, tattooed skin. Yeah, he’d been having some dreams.

The whole phone sex thing should have been difficult that first time; Nate had expected it to be awkward, but it turned out to be easier than he’d thought. 

Brad and Ray were in the lounge when the call was made, Brad sitting back in the armchair with just his jeans open, underwear absent, while Ray knelt completely nude on the floor between Brad’s knees. He had his arms hooked over Brad’s legs and his head resting against the denim of Brad’s thigh, looking peaceful and already flushed although all Brad had done was pet his hair. 

Brad rang. Nate’s breathing was already a little ragged and shallow when he picked up; they all knew what this phone call was about. 

“Hey Brad.” Nate said, a deviation from his usual greeting that signalled his consent.

“Nate, hi. Just calling to catch up.” Brad said lightly, starting the farce of a conversation even as he curled his free hand against the nape of Ray’s neck and guided that eager mouth onto his cock.

They made inconsequential small talk, but Brad knew Nate could hear him suppressing other noises as he spoke, just like Brad could hear the edge in Nate’s voice.

“Ray’s here.” He said, glibly cavalier while he thrust gradually, slowly, into that hot, wet mouth, just a tremor in his voice giving him away.

“Mm, yeah?” Nate said, a little strangled. 

“Yeah. He’s a bit preoccupied, but he’s here.” He nodded at Ray who went from silently suckling on Brad’s cock to moving with more purpose and much more noise, sloppy and loud enough that Nate could hear it.

“Can I talk to him?” 

“That’s going to be a little difficult. He’s got his mouth full right now.”

Nate breathed out a quiet ‘fuck’ on the other side just thinking about that, Brad with his legs spread, Ray on his knees between them. He was sat back on his sofa, trousers and underwear slack around his ankles, his hand moving in slow upward strokes on his lubed dick, imagining the feel of Ray’s mouth.

Brad lay his hand against the flat of Ray’s cheek as Ray turned his head so that Brad could feel his cock in Ray’s mouth from the outside. 

“God Nate, you should see him.”

He traced down Ray’s jawline and then up to press his thumb against the corner of Ray’s mouth while Ray looked up at him, pupils enormous so his eyes looked black and animal. 

“But I guess you will see him like this, so content just having dick in his mouth. He’s so hard but he isn’t even touching himself, that’s how much he loves it.” 

Ray closed his eyes and Brad bucked when he felt Ray’s moan on his cock. “Little cock slut.” He said sounding fond, running his fingers through Ray’s longer post-deployment length hair. 

“Shit.” Nate ground out, his hand working faster on his dick. “He likes it when you talk to him like that?” 

“Whore fucking _loves_ it.” Brad bit his lip as Ray pulled off his dick for a minute to take a deeper breath, grinned wickedly at Brad and then went back down on him.

“Jesus.” 

“I can’t wait to see him choke down on your dick, Nate. The little slut’s going to be so grateful for another cock to take.” Brad fisted his hand in Ray’s hair and pulled, not to move him off, just to hurt him a little; it was a careful grab even though it looked mean. They’d played rough for long enough that they’d learned to do it right. 

Nate groaned on the tail of a gasp. 

"You ever think about shutting him up, Nate? Just shoving your cock in his mouth when he starts running it."

"No. No, I wanna hear him. Wanna hear him moan and whine and cry, fuck, wanna hear it when I push into him…”

The wet sound of Nate’s hand moving hard and fast on his dick made Ray whimper with his mouth still around Brad’s cock, making Brad swear.

“God, you’ll let me fuck him, right?” Nate was panting. “Brad, please let me fuck him.”

Brad had caught the surprised little noise that Ray made at the idea that anyone would want him to talk, that Nate would want to hear him and not gag him; it made Brad’s heart break a little. 

He was as guilty as the many people who kept telling Ray to shut his mouth, but Nate– as far as he knew, Nate had never thrown so much as a ‘shut up’ in Ray’s direction. It made it easier to give Ray to Nate for this. 

“Oh yeah, Nate, I’m gonna let you fuck him.” 

Nate made a noise through gritted teeth as he came, and the sound of it had Brad pulling Ray closer by his hair, the sound of him choking and the clutch of his throat helping Brad come too.

Brad listened to Nate catch his breath, releasing the back of Ray’s head and letting him pull back; his mouth was empty but his chin was a slick mess where he’d tried swallowing but hadn’t quite managed it.

He looked up at Brad for permission, wordless, his chest heaving, and when Brad gave him a curt nod he leaned back on one arm, his body open and exposed to Brad. His legs were still tucked under him in a kneel, and he started stroking his own leaking dick fast and hard.

He bit down on his lip while he did and he was already close, but it was the subtle, affectionate command in Brad’s quiet ‘come on, Ray’ that finally tipped him over the edge. His friction-red mouth fell open and he came against his own chest, down over his bared stomach, down into his lap. 

He knelt there with a hand held loosely around his spent cock, panting and trembling and absently licking his mouth clean. He looked like he’d been used hard, his hair a ruffled mess, his eyes still wet from the involuntary tears caused when Brad had fucked his mouth so deeply; he was covered in his own come, Brad’s still smeared on his chin. 

Brad called his name and took a candid picture as Ray looked up. His own breathing was slowing down as his thumb skittered over his phone, sending the picture to Nate.

He put his phone back to his ear. “Just sent a little something to you.”

The sound of Nate cursing was loud enough that Ray could hear it. 

Ray lay back onto the floor, untucking his legs from under himself and sighing, heavy but satisfied, one hand lax against his stomach and the other one thrown above his head. He closed his eyes and just wound back down a little while Brad finished speaking to Nate, taking the phone off speaker. 

Brad reached a foot out – easy with those long legs - and rubbed it up against Ray’s bare ankle, companionable and soothing instead of anything arousing.

“You okay?” He asked Nate.

“Fuck Brad, if it’s going to be like that every time I might need a breather halfway.” 

“Come on Nate, I’m only 3 years older than you and I can keep up; where’s the stamina?”

“You’ve had practise.” Nate protested, amused over Brad’s chuckle.

“Hey, it’s hard saying no to that face when it’s at your feet asking.” Ray raised an eyebrow with his eyes still closed and Brad fondly nudged his leg gently with his foot.

“I feel for you Brad, I really do.” Nate was saying, faux sympathetic. “And that’s why you need a little help from me.”

Nate sounded a little unsure under his light tone. Brad was quiet for a minute. “You’re sure you still want to help us out Nate?” He asked carefully. 

Nate sighed, but it was more from satisfaction than anything else. “Well, I can’t say things will be the same face to face, but… yeah. I feel more comfortable about it now, this was a good idea to ease us in; maybe we could do it again before we actually meet up?” 

“I’m sure we can work something out. Let me know when’s good for you, I’ll set it up with Ray.” 

“Yeah. Hey… would you tell Ray he looks hot post-fuck?”

Brad could almost hear the blush in Nate’s voice, but he didn’t say anything about it. “Will do, LT.”

Brad eventually ended the call with Nate sated and in good spirits and tucked himself back in, doing his jeans up before turning his attention back to Ray.

He got up from the armchair and lowered himself to the floor, crawling over Ray’s body until he could plant his hands down flat on either side of Ray’s head, straddling him but not making contact.

Ray kept his eyes closed, but the grin on his face that he was valiantly trying to keep back showed that he knew exactly what Brad was doing. 

“Nate says you look hot post-fuck, Ray.” Brad told him, smiling down at him when Ray finally opened his eyes at that.

“Not fair; he gets to see and we don’t.” Ray complained. 

His voice was hoarse and broken and it made both a sting of arousal and a warm melt of affection shiver through Brad. He ducked his head and licked up Ray’s chin through all that mess, taking Ray’s mouth in a long, slow kiss when he reached it. 

Ray’s mouth must have been tender because Brad recognised the noise he made as the one when they mixed a little pain in with their pleasure. Brad could have pressed in harder, but Ray was limp and sweet under him and Brad could only ease up.

He broke the kiss and balanced on one hand to run the other up along the arm Ray was still holding above his head. He took hold of Ray’s wrist, squeezing a little.

“You did good, Ray.” He praised, going down on one elbow to be close enough for another kiss. He squeezed Ray’s wrist again, narrow enough in his hand that Brad could wrap his fingers fully around it, then sat back, releasing Ray’s other arm from where it had been caught between their bodies.

He looked down at the mess he’d made of Ray, that Ray had made of himself. He ran his index finger over Ray’s stomach and fed Ray’s come back to him. “Nate was right. You _are_ hot post-fuck.” 

Ray sucked Brad’s finger clean then laughed, a more subtle version of his usual cackle. “Well thanks, Brad.” He said, almost sarcastic if not for the genuinely pleased look on his face.

Brad took hold of Ray’s chin between thumb and finger and shook his head back and forth teasingly before letting him go. “You alright?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m good. Throat’s a bit sore, but it’s good.” He grinned. “Worth it.”

Brad shook his head. “Ray, you really are a dirty little cockslut.” 

“You know it.”

“Intimately. Hey, how are you feeling about this thing with Nate?” he asked, pretty sure he knew the answer already but wanting to check. He trusted Ray to speak up if he suggested something Ray didn’t want to do, but sometimes he had to protect Ray from his own tendency to say yes if he thought Brad wanted it enough.

“Dude, Brad, if Nate called up now and asked to do this thing this evening you could just carry me upstairs and lay me out on the bed like this, I’d just wait.”

Brad laughed. “No one’s carrying you anywhere Ray.” He got up and then put a hand out for Ray to take, pulling him up onto his feet. “Come on, let’s go get cleaned up.” 

“Together?”

Brad just raised an eyebrow at him; he already knew the answer.

\--

Ray was between jobs and Nate was still waiting for his classes to start, so they were only working around Brad’s schedule. The nice thing about being self-employed was that Brad was his own boss and could give himself three days off without too much stress; his books were looking good enough that he could afford to do it. 

Brad sank into a state of calm that he usually only showed in high-stress situations when he was deployed. Ray was reacting like he’d been given too much sugar, subsequently driving Brad up the wall but also distracting him from his own fretting. 

“Ray, I swear to God I will tie you up if you don’t calm the fuck down.” He’d growled, and then, interrupting as Ray was opening his mouth. “No, not like that. You definitely won’t fucking like it.” 

Ray, unintimidated, had replied, “I think you’re underestimating me.”

By the time their organised date came around, Brad was almost looking forward to Ray finally losing that mania more than the sex they’d be having. Almost. 

The air was charged as soon as Nate arrived, his nervous anticipation boiling against Brad’s sudden and unexpected panic. 

“Hey, hi Nate.” Brad nearly stammered. 

Nate’s smile was slightly wan. “Hi Brad. Ray.”

Of course Ray dispelled that energy before it could discharge and cause lightning by raising an eyebrow at each of them, huffing in exasperation and then unceremoniously stripping out of his t-shirt. 

“Hey, LT. You want a drink or anything?” 

The juxtaposition of brazenly bared tattooed skin and the polite society offer of refreshments was so incongruous that it broke the tension, just the way it had in Iraq. 

Brad reached out and put his hand on the nape of Ray’s neck, squeezing slightly as a warning and an overture, and Ray only just managed to suppress the noise he made at that.

“We have water, uhm… upstairs.” Brad advised euphemistically.

Nate’s attention had zeroed in on Brad taking hold of Ray’s neck, Ray’s stifled reaction to it, and he suddenly felt flushed with a different kind of energy. 

“Yeah. I could go for that.” He said, distracted but entirely focused at the same time.

“You’re sure?” Brad checked cautiously as Ray shifted, understanding that Brad needed to be certain that Nate was sure, but still impatient. “We could have a couple of drinks down here instead?” 

Nate paused a second, if only to watch Ray fidget some more, before smiling – it was that boyish grin and not the half-hearted ‘I’m sad inside’ smiles he’d given in Iraq. “I’d prefer water.” He said, his grin turning sly. 

“Fucking finally you guys.” Ray said once Brad had released him, only to get a smack on the ass for saying it. 

“We might need to work on your patience, Ray.” Brad warned. 

Ray looked some combination of sulky and alarmed. “I’ll be good!” 

Brad narrowed his eyes at him, tossed a confidential smirk to Nate, and then smacked Ray on the ass again, hard enough to make him yelp. “Get up those stairs.” He ordered and Ray, of course, obeyed. 

Brad carefully, tentatively, took Nate’s hand in his own and squeezed it gently when Nate didn’t pull back. 

“I guess we shouldn’t keep him waiting.” 

Brad made a thoughtful sound. “I don’t know. Might be more fun to let him marinade for a bit.”

Nate nearly snorted a laugh. “Marinade?”

Ray shouted down the stairs before Brad could answer. “Are you coming up here or do I have to get myself off?” 

“Don’t you fucking dare touch yourself Ray.” Brad shouted back, then tugged gently at Nate’s hand. “Come on; we’ll have to punish him for being disobedient, you know he’s up there jacking off.” 

Sure enough, when Nate and Brad entered the bedroom Ray was lying back against the pillows completely unclothed and stroking himself to full hardness. Instead of behaving like he was caught in the act, he just stilled his hand. 

“About time.” 

Brad raised an eyebrow and turned to Nate. “See, I told you he’d need punishing.” 

Nate nodded absently, his eyes on Ray: he had more tattoos than Nate had realised, some of them clearly done by an amateur, and he wondered how old Ray had been when he’d got them. He hadn’t seen them in the AO, but then Ray hadn’t removed his t-shirt at any time as far as Nate knew. His bare skin revealed the untanned, paler parts of him which had been hidden from the sun by jeans and t-shirts and were even now blushing red.

Nate found the muscles of his biceps unexpectedly developed considering the rest of his rangy, skinny frame; they appeared bigger when compared to the lean hardness of the rest of his body which was littered with intriguing little mouth-shaped bruised smudges.

There was a thin trail of hair trailing down from his navel that Nate wanted to lick against, but most of all, there was the wicked grin he always had when he knew he’d done something bad.

“I think that’s what he wants.” Nate 

“Of course. Of course that’s what he wants. He doesn’t care what we do as long as he gets a cock in him.” Brad took his shirt off, and if the way he pulled it up and over his head made his arms and stomach and chest stretch out and look amazing, well, that was just a lucky coincidence. “Which is why we’re not going to do it.”

Brad stood at the end of the bed side on, gesturing Nate to follow. He only turned to look at Ray once. “Hands up.” He all out ordered, and Ray immediately reached up, crossed his wrists, and took a loose hold of the headboard; his expression was suspicious, like he didn’t trust what Brad was going to do next. 

“Don’t fucking move, Ray.” He warned without having to tell Ray the consequences if he did. Ray didn’t move. Brad reached out to put his hand against the gentle curve of Nate’s jawline and leaned down to kiss him, ignoring Ray’s whine of displeasure. 

Kissing Nate was very different to kissing Ray, and not just because it was unfamiliar and he didn’t have to dip down as far to make contact. Nate’s face had softer edges compared to Ray’s comparatively angular ones, and where Ray usually bit a little but then caved to the domination of Brad’s mouth, Nate wasn’t giving an inch. 

Nate kissed the way he led, direct and insistent in that way officers had sometimes, but also thoughtful and adaptive to the way Brad’s mouth moved. It was nice kissing someone who challenged Brad’s attempts to own it. 

Brad moved back a little while they made out, enough to get his hands between them to start undoing the buttons of Nate’s shirt. Nate reached up to help and between them they had Nate’s shirt open and sliding off his shoulders to the floor in a way that made Ray whimper, which in turn made Brad pull back to breathe a quiet laugh. 

“Ray, stop pouting. Don’t make me tie you down again.” 

Ray was silent, but Nate suddenly breathed sharply. Brad felt Nate’s half-hard cock twitch and Brad wondered if it was the idea of being tied down or the idea of Ray being tied down that had generated that interest. 

Either way, it didn’t matter. Brad reached down and felt Nate up through his jeans, making Nate gasp and bite down on Brad’s lower lip in retaliation. 

“Ow, fuck.” Brad hissed, delighted. 

Ray groaned, “Not fair”, from his place on the bed, still hanging onto the headboard even though his cock was red and dripping because he was trying so hard to be good.

Brad still shot him a warning look, even though he technically hadn’t told Ray he wasn’t allowed to speak. Nate couldn’t help smiling at that; they hadn’t changed since Iraq.

Brad’s attention turned back to Nate, kissing against his jaw and up towards his ear as he multitasked, undoing Nate’s jeans and coaxing them down. Nate stepped back to help and then both their hands were working on getting the pants off Brad, their kisses frequent and greedy.

When their clothes were in untidy piles scattered on the bedroom carpet, Nate hooked his foot around Brad’s ankle and swept it, pushing Brad at the same time and managing to surprise him enough to have him fall onto the bed.

Brad laughed, amused at the fact he’d been taken off guard, and Nate grinned back, prowling up on top of Brad and dipping his head down to kiss him again. They were positioned just right for Nate to ride down against Brad’s hip, for Brad to push up against Nate’s thigh. 

That was too much for Ray, and he looked like it was too; no one had touched him but he was already breathless, already red-faced and damp with perspiration. He whimpered, a tone Nate had never heard from him before, holding himself still by the skin of his teeth.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry okay, Brad I’m sorry, just please, _please_ , let me move, let me, let me do something, please, I’m sorry.” 

Nate could see what Brad saw in making Ray beg. He was still mouthy as ever but that desperate note in his voice and the way, fuck, the way he still didn’t move and only because Brad had told him not to, pinned down through obedience and his trust in Brad.

Brad craned his head back from his pinned position and turned to look up at Ray before looking back up at Nate.

“What do you think, Nate? Has he been good?” 

Nate gave Ray one of those inscrutable looks he’s used so often in the AO. Ray was biting at his bottom lip, held in suspense, his arms trembling above his head. 

“He hasn’t moved. I think he’s been good enough.” 

Brad surged up and flipped Nate off and to his side, leaning over him and diving in to steal another quick kiss. 

“Roger that.” Brad said wryly. He got off the bed to his feet and moved up to the head of the bed where Ray was still lying. 

Nate took the chance to just look at Brad. He was just shy of a foot taller than Nate and he stood like it as well, like it hadn’t occurred to him to make himself smaller the way some tall guys did, like they were apologising for taking up room; the way Brad navigated space was almost regal, comfortable in his own skin, unabashed now in his nudity. 

Nate had seen the way Brad’s blond hair darkened as it grew out, like everyone else’s during OIF, even as it was bleached by the sun. The honey shade of his even skin tone highlighted the cut of his hips, the strength of his shoulders, the steady lines of his arms. 

Most of all, Nate was attracted to his dry way of talking, the way he smiled with his eyes, his unexpected mischievous grin, and there was the way he surprised at every turn: his capacity for empathy, his penchant for cartoons, how deeply he felt for others in contradiction to his nickname.

Brad was looking down at Ray with an expression that was just too much on this side of sincere to be called condescending. “Aw, fuck.” He said to Ray’s pleading eyes, leaning over to give him a kiss, pressing his hand over Ray’s throat at the same time. 

Brad pulled away and Ray let out a huff of breath, a little overwhelmed already. Nate swore under his breath, just loud enough for the other two to hear him. He was still on the end of the bed, kneeling up and only casually stroking himself while he watched them. 

“He’s been good enough to get another kiss, hasn’t he Nate?” Brad asked, rubbing his thumb against Ray’s chin then up to push the tip into his mouth the way he’d learned Ray liked. 

Nate nodded and then shuffled up the bed until he could lean over Ray’s body, opposite Brad. He took a moment to finally touch and stroked through Ray’s hair, pleased at the way Ray closed his eyes and leaned a little into his hand like something feline. 

“Yeah, he can have a kiss.” Nate agreed, but Brad stopped him before he could bend down. 

“He still has to ask for it.” Brad decided and Ray was speaking almost before Brad finished. 

“Will you kiss me, Nate?” Ray asked, strained with the way Brad was pushing him. 

Nate had already been ready to give in; he captured Ray’s chin from Brad’s hand and turned it towards him so that he could kiss him. 

Kissing Ray wasn’t at all like kissing Brad. Ray matched Nate’s tempo, content to follow, wanting to please even in this. He hadn’t expected this easy compliance, but it made sense when he thought about it; Ray kissed generously, thoughtfully in the same way he’d anticipated Brad’s needs in the Humvee in Iraq. 

He kissed like it was his job to take care of Nate, and Nate could see why Brad had worried that Ray wasn’t expressing how he really felt; he felt he could tell a lot about what Ray liked in bed just from the submission of his mouth. 

Brad reached in and stole Ray from Nate to kiss him too, Nate doing the same only moments after Brad had. They shared Ray’s mouth with enough frequency to leave Ray light-headed and trying to catch his breath. 

Brad loved breaking Ray down like this, grateful that asking Nate to sleep with them was working so well. He was finding new and interesting ways to wear Ray down and he was already sparking with inspiration to make this good for all of them. 

He stood back for a moment, running a hand against Ray’s thigh and against Nate’s flank, just watching them both kiss. 

He knew Ray’s body almost as well as his own, how light and shadow changed to highlight and conceal different parts of him. Nate was a revelation; he had the same work-hard body under his clothes that all Marine’s had, but it was the first that Brad was really seeing of it as it had been swamped under the bulk of their MOPP suits throughout Iraq.

Nate had sure hands and long fingers that had held his weapon steady, hands that Brad knew were going to blow Ray’s mind. He had a long reach and deceptively broad shoulders that had persistently carried the weight of his responsibility in Iraq. He liked the length of Nate’s throat.

He had an air of confidence and had a style of command that made his men want to fight for him and not his rank. He was competent and most notably lacked the arrogance that was seen too often in commissioned officers. That and he truly, honestly, cared about the welfare of his men; Brad knew he and Ray were lucky that Nate had agreed to this – it was easy to trust Nate with them both. 

He reached down to stroke Ray’s already hard cock, making him twist his hips and make a broken noise against Nate’s aggressive mouth, taking advantage of his arm span to lean over to the bedside table and grab the bottle of lube. 

“Nate.” 

He caught Nate’s attention and when Nate pulled away to let Ray breath, Brad put his hand over Ray’s throat and applied just a little pressure, enough to keep Ray’s breath short. 

“Nate, put your hand here.”

Nate replaced Brad’s fingers with his own and Ray made a broken, choked noise; Nate nearly pulled back. Brad put his hand over Nate’s and squeezed, showing Nate how Ray liked it. 

“You feel that Ray? Nate’s hand on your throat?”

All Ray could do in answer was swallow hard, his eyes flicking from Brad’s face to Nate’s and back. 

“Finger his mouth Nate.” Brad said, his eyes fixed hard on Ray’s, almost predatory, all possessive.

Nate slid his hand up from Ray’s throat and pushed two fingers into Ray’s mouth, watching Ray’s eyes close like this was all he wanted. Brad watched intently, and as Nate pushed in and out of Ray’s mouth against the velvety plush of his tongue, he realised that he was holding his breath just watching Ray take them. 

The muffled moan that Ray made even though he was drooling around Nate’s fingers made Nate have to reach down and squeeze his hand gently around his eager cock to bring himself back a little bit. 

“Like that?” Nate asked Ray gently, and he made a little noise when Ray tried to say yes, that tongue necessarily moving against his fingers.

Something about that little helpless sound that came out of Nate made Brad lean over and have to kiss him. He cupped his hand gently against the curve of the side of Nate’s face and his mouth moved unhurried and sweet. 

It went on for a little long until Ray whimpered under them. Brad made him wait just a few seconds more before ending the kiss. He looked own at Ray and Nate pulled his spit slick fingers from Ray’s mouth; instead of the kiss Ray expected, Brad took hold of Nate’s wrist and sucked Nate’s wet fingers into his own mouth. He found it funny that it drew similar sounds of surprise from the both of them. 

He still hadn’t kissed Ray again though, so Brad – keeping eye contact with Nate for a moment – moved Nate’s hand down to Ray’s chest and let him rub his thumb against one of those tattoo experiments while he finally gave Ray the kiss he’d wanted. He bit at Ray’s lip just as much as he soothed it with his tongue, but Ray wasn’t complaining. 

He leaned back up when Ray made a familiar groan, looking over to see Nate curiously pushing against one of the many little petals of bruises that were scattered over Ray’s body. The one he’d found was low on his ribcage on the right side and Nate looked a little confused. 

“What’s this from?” He wanted to know. 

“Ask him, it’s his fault.” Ray snarked, nodding his head towards Brad but answering anyway. “You wanna be careful Nate, motherfucker bites, and not in normal places either.” He lifted his arm and showed Nate the lavender splash and little red teeth marks of the bruise on the back of it. 

“What the fuck, Brad?” Nate asked, inspecting the little hurt. 

“On the heel of my hand.” Ray added, showing Nate that too, although there was barely a mark there. 

Nate gave Brad a trademarked Nate look and Brad shrugged. He reached down and wordlessly showed Nate another, tracing the tip of one long index finger over Ray’s navel, over a darker bruise around the place where a belly-button piercing might be. 

“He bites me in the weirdest fucking places. Look at me!” Ray bitched, but there was a little breathy note under his words and Nate saw the way he subtly curled up towards Brad’s hand. 

“I don’t hear you complaining.” Brad commented. 

“What are you talking about, I complain all the-” Ray was cut off with a large hand over his mouth, Brad squeezing a little. 

“Shut up, Ray.” He said affectionately. Ray shivered then and Brad looked over to see Nate dragging his fingertips down under Ray’s navel, up and down that little trail of hair there and completely neglecting Ray’s cock on purpose. 

It prompted a memory; Nate had said that he wanted to hear Ray, and on the heels of that, feelings of guilt came back that Ray was so used to being casually muted. 

He lifted his hand from Ray’s mouth, combed it through Ray’s hair and then leant down to kiss Ray again, this one meant to be an apology. He didn’t know if it translated through as such, but Ray released his grip on the headboard and curled his hand round Brad’s chin, rubbing his thumb there.

Nate’s mouth replaced his when Brad leaned back, and Brad went back in when Nate pulled back, sharing him again. Ray wasn’t get much air in between kisses, but that was the intent. He still had the wherewithal while he was being kissed dizzy to reach down and pull one hand groggily up Nate’s dick. 

Nate bucked into the touch and his hand curled tight where it rested against Ray’s hip, making Ray groan into Brad’s mouth. His grip softened and then he slid his hand over and finally, finally, grasped the base of Ray’s cock. He didn’t stroke up, mostly just felt up what he could without moving his hand; it still made Ray gasp into Brad’s mouth. 

The kisses stopped then and Ray was left panting under both of them; his mouth looked pornographic and lewd from Brad’s biting habit and the pressure of their mouths on his.

Brad watched Ray slowly not-really jacking Nate off, Nate torturing Ray by touching but not touching him, and reached down to his own cock, rubbing his thumb over the head and then matching his pace to Ray’s. Ray noticed and kicked one foot a little. 

“Brad, come on.” He complained, practically a whine. “Nate, be nice. Brad, make Nate be nice.” 

Brad scoffed. “What makes you think I want Nate to be nice, Ray?” he asked, but Nate didn’t relish the idea of winding Ray up as much as Brad did and stroked his hand up Ray’s cock once before releasing him to an almost pained little noise. 

“Nate~” Ray said in what was definitely a whine. 

Nate wasn’t nice. He ran his hand down against the inside of Ray’s leg instead, clutching at the softer part of his thigh. He was delighted when it made Ray spread his legs, the one he was gripping bending out towards Nate in what was almost a plea. 

“So cruel, Brad.” Nate chided, but he gave Brad a smile as he said it. 

Brad shook his head and then handed the lube over to Nate. “You’re going to spoil him.” 

Nate got off the bed and came around to find the best position for him to lie between Ray’s knees, close enough to kiss against the joint where Ray’s leg met his hip. Ray reached out, more daring as Brad hadn’t told him to put his arms back up when he’d moved them before, and being rewarded for his actions when Brad didn’t say a word. 

Nate expected Ray to reach down and touch himself, but was surprised when Ray curled up a little further and stroked through Nate’s hair.

“It’s good grown out.” Ray murmured, almost like he was talking to himself. 

Nate took hold of his hand and pressed a chaste kiss against Ray’s palm. 

“Stay like that Ray.” Brad told him, bending him forward a little more and trusting Ray’s flexibility to allow him to do it. Brad climbed over Ray and slid himself down neatly into the space between Ray’s back and the headboard, knees bent up on either side of Ray’s body. 

He hiked Ray up a little so Ray was leaning back against him in a fashion that let him reach down to grip Ray’s cock while conveniently being able to rub his own up against Ray’s back. 

Nate took a moment to lick up from Ray’s balls and right up his cock to the tip, leaving a teasing kiss against the head. Brad tilted Ray’s head to the side and back a little against his shoulder so he was able to stifle Ray’s high moan with a kiss. 

“Fuck.” Nate said when he saw the pair of them, loud enough that Brad and Ray could hear. Brad gave him a sharkish grin while Ray was still trying to shake off his momentary giddiness. 

“Have the lube Nate?” Brad prompted more than asked. 

Nate sat up to find the bottle and slick his fingers up, squeezing some into his palm and then slicking it over Ray’s hole. Brad licked up the edge of Ray’s ear, making him tilt his head to that side and snort a sudden laugh, then took advantage of the exposed side of Ray’s neck to scrape his teeth against the tension of it. 

Brad slid his arms under Ray’s and held them back, rubbing up against Ray’s back and then holding still when he felt Ray tense as Nate pushed the exploratory pad of his finger almost into him. 

Brad kissed Ray’s cheek. “You can go in Nate.” He assured. “One, then two soon after that.” 

Nate trusted that Brad knew how not to hurt Ray, but he was still ginger and careful about breaching him for the first time. Ray bent his knee so that his leg pulled up a little and cocked it out to the side slightly, comfortable and opened up a little more. 

Nate tried not to watch as Brad curled his hand against Ray’s throat and tipped his head back further to kiss his mouth, against his jaw, down under his ear then back; his attention needed to be on what he was doing. 

Ray sighed and the toes on his still straightened leg curled when Nate felt one of his fingers up into him, testing the ease in which he could. 

“Yeah?” Nate asked, and Ray nodded.

Ray was relaxed enough that Nate felt he could push a second finger in with his first, relishing the slightly squeezed sound of pleasure Ray made around the pressure of Brad’s hand around his throat.

“You just pushed two in, right?” Brad asked, correct even though he couldn’t see what Nate was doing. It made Nate chuckle shortly and Brad grinned. “Yeah, and he likes it.” Brad added, licking the junction of Ray’s neck and shoulder then pressing his teeth against it, threatening a bite without following through.

Nate bent his fingers inside Ray a little, easing him open with a slow momentum that had Ray wriggling, inadvertently shifting against Brad’s dick too. Brad growled and nipped at Ray’s skin. 

Ray yelped and Nate paused, looking up at him unsure if he’d moved wrong. 

Ray shook his head before Nate asked. “I’m okay Nate, I’m okay, just Brad; it’s good, it’s so good. Do three, you can do three.” 

Nate nodded but Brad was speaking. “Ask nicely Ray, I told Nate how nicely you beg.” 

Ray groaned, a mixture of arousal and impatience. “Please Nate, please? Please.” 

Nate kissed Ray’s knee, nice and normal on the hinge of it and not somewhere crazy like halfway up his calf the way Brad liked doing. He kept two fingers in Ray, stretching them to the side and pushing the third against the space he’d made. 

Ray lifted his hips and Nate had to make sure he was moving his hand with the motion and not against it. Brad put one hand against Ray’s hip, looking huge there as Brad pressed and held Ray down. “Give him three, Nate.” Brad urged, and Nate complied. 

Nate pulled his fingers almost entirely out, then turned them as he pushed them back in. Ray made a cut-off noise and Brad leaned in to whisper something into his ear; Nate only caught part of it. 

“-to hear you.” 

Brad’s free hand ran firm up and down the side of Ray’s chest and then up to thumb roughly against his nipple. 

Nate thrust in again, stretching his fingers apart just a little when he was inside, and Ray tossed his head back against Brad’s shoulder. 

“Fuck Nate, yeah, fuck, you can go faster, more, more, you can finger me faster Nate, fucking fingerfuck me.” He begged, and Nate realised Brad had told him he could run his mouth. He had no idea why anyone would even want to gag Ray when he was like this. 

Brad seemed almost as blown by Ray’s flood of begging as Nate himself was, adding to Ray’s swearing with a softly cursed ‘shit’ of his own.

“Anything you want, Ray, anything.” Nate promised, sitting up from Ray’s legs a little further so he could get the leverage to move his hand properly, slowing down from time to time to actually work on stretching Ray out, but otherwise fucking them into him fast and hard. Ray didn’t take it quietly. 

“Shit yeah Nate, yes yes yes, fuck, fuck yeah, do it, do it, god-” on and on, rattling punctuated expletives like an enemy AK, nothing like the way he’d rambled in Iraq. 

“Nate, that feels fucking fantastic.” Brad ground out in a way Nate might have called surprised if he didn’t know Brad so well. Brad had apparently discovered that the way Ray was being jostled made him rub up against Brad’s dick.

Ray whined and twisted a little as Nate slowed down to a more sedate pace to check in, “You okay?”

“Was better when you were _moving_.” Ray pointed out, somewhat petulant. 

“I can fix that.” Nate smirked, reaching for the lube bottle and readying to get his cock slicked.

“Wait a minute Nate.” Brad interrupted, a thoughtful look on his face. “Give him four.” 

“Brad?” Nate almost protested but it was under Ray’s much more startled yelp, “Brad!”

“He can take it.” Brad assured Nate, then bent his head down to nip the tip of Ray’s ear. “You know you can take it.” He said, and this time it was a reminder. 

Ray shuddered and then nodded his consent to Nate, who still looked a little unsure. 

“I can do it, I can take it, Nate.” Ray confirmed, reaching out again and stretching just a little to pet the side of Nate’s face, a little of his hair. “It’s okay, I can take it. Give it to me.” 

Ray’s body felt supple and ready around his fingers, but Nate still felt hesitant, especially when he saw how big just three fingers looked against the tight stretch of Ray’s body. 

“He’s done it before.” Brad said, seeing Nate’s uncertainty. “He took that and more.”

“More?” Nate couldn’t make the math work.

“Tell him, Ray.” Brad said, faking cruel. “Tell Nate how much of a slut you are, tell him what you did.”

Ray arched his back a little, onto Nate’s fingers and back against Brad’s dick. “Brad fisted me.” He said, breathless, heady shame reddening his cheeks. “Brad fucked me on his fist and I came.” 

Nate nearly felt his heart stop in his chest and his cock jump. “What!” He hadn’t felt this shocked since seeing the train of people fleeing Baghdad and hearing how far they’d walked; this was more personal though. He was stunned by Ray’s resilience, what it must have taken for Brad to fit his fist into that taut body. 

Brad was whispering into Ray’s ear, this time low enough that Nate couldn’t hear anything but a slight sibilance before Ray nodded and gasped quietly to take a breath before he was speaking again, pressing back into Brad. 

“Brad fist-fucked me and it was my idea.” His words came out in a helpless spill. “I asked him to do it, I wanted it so bad. I wanted his hands, I wanted his whole hand inside me and I asked him for it and Brad said yes and I fucking loved it Nate, I fucking loved it, it felt so fucking good-”

Nate didn’t have the words to describe the noise of frustration that Ray made when Brad reached down and wrapped his hand firmly around the base of his cock to stop him from even thinking about coming. 

“Tell Nate again Ray, tell him it’s okay.” 

“It’s okay Nate, I can take it. I can take it.” Ray promised, those big, dark eyes sincere and pleading. 

He couldn’t help but lean forward with his fingers careful inside Ray’s body, far enough that he could kiss Ray again and feel his cock bump up against Brad’s knuckles around Ray’s cock as he did; Ray’s mouth was decadently sloppy and almost lax against his own more dominating one. 

He also gave Brad a relatively quick kiss over Ray’s shoulder before sitting back and crouching down again between Ray’s legs, stroking his fingers inside Ray contemplatively. 

“You want four fingers Ray, we’re going to do it my way.” He warned, before bracketing his fingers with a lick on either side of them, tasting the artificial flavour of the lube he’d used. He spread out all three fingers and lapped between them, over them, pressed down to edge his tongue into Ray’s hole along with them. 

Ray was panting so hard that Nate might have been worried if not for Brad putting a palm in the middle of Ray’s chest to keep track, holding him back his other hand came up to Ray’s neck again, just holding there instead of applying pressure.

Nate removed his fingers entirely and just fucked Ray with his tongue a little, only removing it to turn his head a little and nip the delicate skin where his teeth could gain purchase, leaving his own little fucked-up bite mark on Ray’s skin.

He reintroduced three fingers, pushing them deeply into the wet clutch of Ray’s body while he sucked one of Ray’s balls and then pulled back; he didn’t want to push his fourth finger in by blind touch alone.

Brad moaned as Ray almost writhed against him, his cock leaking pre-come against Ray’s back as he scratched his blunt nails gently down Ray’s chest to his stomach and up again. Nate liked seeing that for all that Brad could be rough in the bedroom, he was also able to gentle Ray through this. 

“Nate, fuck, please.” Ray pleaded, sounding stretched thin.

Brad moved to suck at Ray’s bared neck and Nate took that as the go-ahead. 

“Yeah, okay.” Nate said, like it was an imposition even though he was trembling a little, almost more than Ray. He held one of Ray’s legs open a little more with one hand on his thigh and then slipped a tucked fourth finger through the resistance Ray’s body gave him.

Ray made a noise somewhere between a whine and a sob that made Nate wince. 

“He’s okay Nate.” Brad said, seeing Nate’s uncertainty. “I won’t let you hurt him. Go on, he can’t wait.” 

Brad gave Nate the encouragement he’d needed to go ahead and twist all four of his fingers into Ray, feeling him open up on them easily. Ray moaned and nearly smacked his head back into Brad’s nose, so Brad reached up to press against Ray’s forehead, holding him down against Brad’s shoulder. 

“I know that makes you helpless, but watch your fucking head.” Brad scolded without heat and his hand gentle. 

Nate was fascinated watching Ray twitch and shudder at every move he made, how his cock jerked in Brad’s grip for an orgasm Brad wouldn’t allow. Nate squeezed against the base of his own dick and was suddenly aching to switch his fingers out to let it in. 

“Brad, Brad, let me fuck him now, let me.” Nate’s words didn’t match his desperate growl. 

“I don’t think the little whore can wait much longer, fucking get in there and screw him Nate.” 

Even now, Nate was still mindful that he had his fingers in Ray’s body and he withdrew them with more restraint than he thought he possessed. He took a minute to pump his hand over his cock to make sure it was still slick enough not to hurt either of them, and then slid his free hand up under Ray’s knee again to lift his leg back. 

He couldn’t help glancing the head of his cock in a tease against Ray’s hole, a move that made Ray swear something between gritted teeth that Nate couldn’t catch, until he couldn’t wait any longer himself and finally pushed firmly into Ray. 

He’d opened Ray up so fully that he was able to slide all the way in until the cradle of his pelvis was crushed up against the curve of Ray’s ass. He panted, resting his head down against Ray’s chest and feeling the sweat that had collected there. He kissed it away where he could reach, wasting time until he thought there was a good chance he wasn’t going to come in three seconds. 

He caught some of the things Brad was murmuring against Ray’s temple, filthy and tender together. 

“Is that good for you baby, yeah? Nate’s cock feel different in you than mine, touching you inside in new places, how does it feel? You like it, huh, you love it in you?” He looked up and caught Nate’s eyes suddenly, talking loud enough that Nate could hear too. “I’m going to let him fuck you Ray, Nate’s going to fuck you until you come like a little bitch all over yourself.” 

Ray writhed. Nate groaned and shook his head; he didn’t think he could last that long. Brad gave him a severe look, the kind he’d seen from him when he took charge in Iraq. 

“Nate’s not going to come in you until you come on his cock, Ray.” He said, directed briefly as a warning to Nate. “You’re going to be a good boy for him, right, letting him come in you?” 

Ray nodded frantically and rolled his hips down a little to get Nate moving in him. Nate swore, a sharp ‘fuck’ and then leaned back a little to get Ray there first so he could come into that impossible sucking heat. 

“Words, Ray.” Brad reminded, and then manoeuvred so that he could slide his legs between Ray’s and hold them wide apart with his own. It was unexpected and wildly hot and Nate held onto the hill of Brad’s knee hard enough that it would ache for Brad later on, his grip forceful as he tried not to just lose his restraint and fuck Ray silly.

Ray found his tongue somewhere and the talking didn’t help Nate’s anticipation of his stamina, or at least not at first.

“Fuck Nate, your cock up my ass feels so fucking good; I’m gonna come for you just so you can fill me up after Nate, yeah, go harder… harder, harder… fucking… harder… Nate. Nate, Nate, wait a minute, wait a minute.” Ray reached out to take hold of Nate’s shoulders, but it wasn’t necessary because Nate had paused as soon as Ray had asked him to, as difficult as it was. “Nate, weren't you a Marine?” 

What? “You know I was.”

“So what the fuck dude, you’re not gonna fuck me like one?” Ray had the gall to huff, even though Nate could feel the way his muscles trembled compulsively around him. 

“I don't wanna hurt you.” Nate admitted

Brad laughed. "You won't hurt him Nate. And even if you did, the little bitch likes it. Don't you Ray." 

He didn’t wait for a reply; he just tilted his head down and bit Ray right on the ball of his shoulder, making him yelp but also making him shudder. 

“Brad, what the fuck.” Ray moaned, some token protest at Brad’s weird and specific biting kink. 

Nate wasn’t thinking about that though; he was too preoccupied by the way Ray’s cock was dripping over Brad’s hand, how he’d jerked involuntarily when Brad had bitten him and realised that Brad was right – Ray loved this. 

Ray was actually distracted with trying to look at his shoulder to see if Brad had left a mark, and Nate broke. He lunged into Ray sudden and forceful and made him cry out, surprised and exhilarated. 

“You wanna get fucked by a Marine, Ray? Was that what you said?” 

Nate slammed into him again and Ray whimpered, shaken, Brad grinding up against his back but still holding hard to Ray’s dick. 

“Well, you asked for it.” Nate’s smile was like a knife and he threw himself into fucking Ray’s brains out. He was gratified to see the way Ray’s hands clawed against Brad’s hard biceps, how all he could do was hang on and ride it out. 

The only words from Ray’s mouth now were half-formed snatches of Nate’s name and fervent bitten off chants of ‘fuck, fuck, fuck’, Ray unable to even pick his head up from where it still rested on Brad’s shoulder. Those words turned to, “Please, please, Brad, please.” And Nate realised Ray was asking Brad to let him come. 

Brad bit the tense cord of Ray’s neck at the same time that he released the pressure on Ray’s cock and Ray came hard enough to hit the hollow of his throat, then all the way down his chest, thrown into silence by the force of it. 

Ray’s body didn’t so much clamp down as strangle Nate’s cock, and Nate came like a punch to the chest, leaving him just as breathless and rattling and shaking. He didn’t have any control over the way he fell down against Ray’s front, not even thinking about the come smudged between them. 

Ray was whimpering now, little sounds that he couldn’t control, tiny noises that Brad caught in his own mouth by briefly tipping Ray’s head towards him. He reached out with his other hand to take a gentle hold of Nate’s chin and guided more than tugged Nate up, moving from Ray’s mouth to Nate’s with as little pause as possible.

Brad wound Nate back down with kisses that were grateful and adolescent in their indulgence; they just made out while Ray watched with dazed eyes, clearly trying to reboot himself for a minute and finding it difficult while Nate’s cock was still in him.

Nate had to lean back eventually to get air unhampered, and then to reverently, reluctantly, pull out of Ray; his breath hitched when he watched his come seeping out. He leaned up over Ray where he was cradled against Brad’s body and kissed him too, cupping Ray’s cheek with one hand as he did. 

Brad untangled his legs from Ray, and then interrupted them by anchoring his hand in Ray’s hair and pulling him away from Nate; he angled to give Ray a kiss, and he wasn’t even half as gentle as Nate had been. He involved a lot more teeth, and when he released Ray to kiss again Nate instead, Nate moved fast and forcefully to dominate it before Brad could. 

Their mouths hurt with the indents of their teeth crashing against each other, lips getting caught and pinched, the occasional sharp and piercing burn when someone’s tongue was bitten. 

They fell apart to the lift of Ray’s chest as he sighed, his hand smoothing its way up Nate’s ribs and down again to his waist; it tripped off Nate’s hip to rub firmly against Brad’s leg, squeezing at his thigh.

“Oh, look at this.” Brad said in this strange mixture of condescension and sweetness, pressing his nose against Ray’s sweat-damp hair in a gesture that felt suddenly intimate. “What’s wrong, baby? Upset because you’re not getting any attention? Already?” he turned his hand to scoop his palm up Ray’s stomach to his chest, cleaning Ray’s body of his come. 

He pushed Ray forward a little with the other hand planted between Ray’s shoulder blades. 

“Nate. Lie back.”

Nate followed suit, falling back so that his head nearly reached the end of the bed, stretching his legs out before him on either side of Brad. He had a notion of what Brad was thinking that was confirmed when Brad pushed Ray more insistently. 

“Come on Ray, up over Nate, between his legs.” Ray sat himself up and then lowered himself somewhat hesitantly over Nate. 

“I don’t wanna crush you.” He told Nate, his face worried.

Nate reached out confidently to take hold of Ray’s arms and pull him down against his chest, settling him comfortably even as Brad snorted.

“You’re not going to crush him Ray; he’s a goddamn Marine Corps Lieutenant and you’re an underfed, waifish sapling that grew all of 4 foot on the classic whiskey-tango diet of roadkill and moonshine, you couldn’t crush him if you tried.”

Ray was honestly not as light as he looked, but his weight was solid and pleasant on top of Nate and certainly nothing he couldn’t manage. Brad was obviously trying to wind Ray up – their flirting and foreplay seemed to be an endless back and forth of antagonism and sniping. 

“Fuck you Brad, you freakishly enormous steroid-fed dick.” Ray rallied back, his words punctuated by his attempts to kick behind him and hit Brad somewhere soft. 

Brad grabbed hold of one of Ray’s ankles with his free hand and pushed it down to the mattress beside Nate’s leg decisively. “You love it.” He smirked, reaching down and slicking his cock up with the come he’d wiped up from Ray’s chest.

He’d left Ray’s other foot free out of necessity and regretted it when Ray kicked out again and caught Brad on the shoulder, almost in the face. 

Brad snarled and pinned Ray’s free ankle down onto the bed with some force, leaning forward over him so that Nate, still under Ray, could see that there was no real rage there. Ray was trying to look over his shoulder at Brad, who clamped a hand against the back of Ray’s neck and pushed his face down against Nate’s shoulder. 

“You want to act like an animal, Ray, you’re going to get fucked like one.” He promised, looking down and using his hand to help swiftly drive his cock into him, still only slicked with his leaking pre come and the come from Ray’s chest. 

Brad fucked Ray savagely from the start, not giving him the chance to take a full breath. The sheer force of it had Nate holding hard to Ray’s arms so that he wouldn’t be shoved straight up over Nate’s head. 

Ray was pared down to nothing but airless little mewling noises, smothered against Nate’s shoulder. He was just glad Ray had turned his head away from his collarbone so that Nate would escape a possible, accidental head-butt to the nose.

Brad knelt up, rearing over them and fitting his hands over Ray’s shoulders, anchored in the place just above Ray’s collarbones. He pulled Ray back into him, the punishing sound of impact frantic, Ray tugged up just enough that his head hung down between his arms; he’d be able to see Nate’s face if he just lifted his eyes from the muscle of Nate’s stomach.

“Look at him, Ray, look at Nate. He just fucked you until you came all over yourself and now he’s watching you get fucked again with your own come, just how you like. You know what’s he’s thinking; he looks at you and all he sees is a whore.”

Ray made a sound like a sob and ducked his head, his forehead bowed towards Nate’s shoulder. Brad wouldn’t let him hide, shifting one hand from Ray’s shoulder to his neck and lifting his head back up. He skimmed the line of Ray’s arching throat to cradle Ray’s chin in his palm briefly before pushing three fingers into Ray’s mouth. 

He pulled Ray’s jaw down a little, felt Ray trying to swallow and just not being able to while Brad held his mouth open, his tongue fighting against the digits pressing it down. In a few seconds he was drooling around and down Brad’s fingers, onto the flush of Nate’s chest under him. 

“Look at him.” Brad said, to Nate this time.

“Fucking filthy.” Nate agreed, seeing what the words did to Ray, to Brad. Ray closed his eyes like he was in pain, but Nate could feel the way his dick twitched against Nate’s own, rising back to hardness already. 

“I told you how they’d see you once you had a cock up your ass, Ray.” Brad said, breathless with exertion. “Now Nate knows how desperate you get, how fucking easy you are.”

Ray whined a moan around Brad’s fingers and choked a little when Brad bucked into him. 

“Just taking it like it’s his job.” Nate added, rolling his hips up into Ray’s whenever Brad fucked Ray down against him. “Should have started renting him out in Kuwait Brad, he would have kept everyone happy through the whole invasion.” 

“Don’t let him come, Nate.” Brad ordered suddenly, and Nate groped a hand down to grip Ray’s cock, getting a truly broken whimper for his trouble. 

Brad slowed his hips to a stop and took a breath, rubbing up and down Ray’s spine, secretly affectionate, with the hand that wasn’t occupying Ray’s mouth. He took his fingers back after a moment and then withdrew from Ray altogether, sitting back with a puff of breath. He stroked his still hard cock with his spit-slick hand and watched Ray’s legs shake from the strain of keeping himself upright over Nate. 

Nate moved his arm, and Brad couldn’t see it when Nate rubbed his finger through the gloss of spit on his chest and then feed it into Ray’s mouth; he couldn’t see Ray close his eyes to nurse on it, but he could guess what was happening from the content little noise Ray made. 

Nate took his finger back and let go of Ray’s cock, letting Ray lie back down on him and petting his soaking hair.

“You didn’t come.” Ray said groggily, probably to Brad from the way his head was turned. 

Brad reached out and casually ran his thumb over Ray’s wet, open, obscene hole, catching in it a little; Ray’s whole body shuddered.

“Not yet.” 

Brad suddenly reached down and playfully smacked the side of Nate’s thigh, making him jump. He kneeled up on the bed, leaning over to fumble for the large bottle of water that was waiting there just for this.

“Water break.” He announced, opening the bottle with the cracking sound of the seal breaking. “Come on Ray, let Nate up.”

Ray seemed more than happy to stay where he was, but Brad tugged him up gently and supported him until he was almost sitting back in Brad’s lap; he looked worn but wired, shivering now and again, and not from the cold.

Nate pushed himself up onto his elbows and accepted the bottle Brad offered, taking a long gulping drink from it before he passed it back. Brad held it up to Ray’s mouth; he shot a glare at Brad for the implication of frailty, but still only moved enough to put his hand over Brad’s on the bottle and tilt it to take a sip.

When he was done Brad took his own couple of mouthfuls and then offered it back to Nate who declined with a shake of his head. 

“Ray?” He asked, and when answered in the negative, took another swig before placing the bottle back on the nightstand.

They all seemed to take a breath before recollecting themselves. Brad curled one arm around Ray’s waist and it spanned all the way to the other side easily, his hand spread against Ray’s hip. He reached the other out to fumble at Nate’s leg, tugging until Nate eventually sat up and leaned into Ray so that Brad could reach to give him a quick kiss.

“Alright, Nate?” He checked. 

“Well, I haven’t passed out yet.” Nate answered, amused. 

It made Brad’s mouth quirk in one of those quiet smiles. “But you’re alright?” He asked again. “You’re happy to keep going?”

“I don’t know what else you’ve got in mind Brad, but I’m up for it.” 

“I can see that.” Brad quipped, an eyebrow raised at Nate’s dick which was hard again from the way Brad had fucked Ray against it. “Ray?” he asked next. 

“I’m okay, Brad.” Ray assured, lazy but seemingly in possession of most of his faculties. 

“Yeah?” Brad checked, massaging his big fingers into the hip under his hand and making Ray groan. 

“Yeah, all green.” he confirmed, his voice sultry with the way his body was ringing with endorphins. His languor made Nate breathe out an indulgent laugh, making Ray react with an understated smile. 

“Jesus Nate, would you kiss him already?” Brad complained playfully, watching as Nate did just that. 

He drew his arm out from where it was now caught between their two bodies and reached round to anchor his hand against Nate’s ass, pulling him in tight against Ray. 

“Don’t stop.” He warned them, and the noises they made at the kisses, at the way Brad was manipulating their bodies against each other, primed them up again.

Brad took a moment to suck bites against the solid line where Nate’s neck joined his shoulder, and even now Ray was able to pinch Brad on the waist for his consideration with Nate, for not leaving marks somewhere weird like Nate’s elbow or something. 

Brad laughed at Ray’s disgruntled move and let go of Nate, his hand sliding over the muscle there reluctantly.

“Nate, you remember your safeword?” he asked.

“’Safeword’.” Nate replied promptly. 

“I still can’t believe your safeword is ‘safeword’ Nate.” Ray commented; when he first heard it he hadn’t been sure if he was offended at the idea or upset that he hadn’t thought of it first.

Brad slapped him on the leg and Ray yelped. “Focus Ray. What’s your safeword?”

“’Purple’.”

“Turtle.” Nate said suddenly, causing confusion. “Turtle.” He said again. “Rhymes with purple.” 

Ray made a face. “Not really.” 

“I thought of ‘orange’?”

“Door hinge.” 

Nate looked like he was going to argue, when Brad cut in. “Do you two want to have sex or just argue about rhyming words?” 

Ray responded by reaching forward a little to kiss Nate again. 

“And my safeword’s ‘Delta’.” Brad dropped, causing a sputter. 

“God Brad, I thought you were gonna change that.” 

Brad smirked. “Well, it’ll stop us immediately, won’t it.” 

Nate paused for a beat and then leaned over to kiss Brad, then Ray again, just brief meetings of mouths. “I’m glad you asked me into this.”

Brad reached out and cradled the side of Nate’s face for a second, smiling back at him. 

“Of course, LT.” Ray added. “I still can’t believe you said yes. I still think this is some kind of fever dream.” 

“It’s going to feel real soon enough.” Brad promised Ray somewhat forebodingly. “Nate, where’s the lube?” 

Nate found it among the rucked up bedsheets and handed it over to Brad, who abruptly kneeled up to tip Ray forward on the bed, standing up off it and motioning for Nate to join him. “Face down, Ray.” He ordered, hands on Ray’s hips to bodily move him so that he was now laid out sideways across the bed.

Nate curled his toes into the carpet and had to grip his cock, stroking it almost thoughtlessly at the sight of Ray prostrate for them, his legs spread so that his hole was exposed, red from use, wet with lube and spit and come so he was sticky right down to his thighs. 

“I know, right?” Brad said, not touching himself because he hadn’t come since fucking Ray and he didn’t want to do so now. 

“How do you ever get anything done?” Nate said, reaching out with his free hand and groping at Ray’s inner thigh, earning a startled noise and a marginal jump from Ray who hadn’t been expecting a touch.

“You’re okay, Ray.” Brad reminded him immediately. “Give me your hand, Nate.” 

Nate let go of Ray’s thigh and held his hand out towards Brad, getting a liberal application of lube from the bottle over his fingers. 

“Go on.” Brad said, indicating Ray with a tilt of his head. “Ray, Nate’s going to finger you some more. Say thank you.” 

“Thank you, Nate.” Ray said, obedient in a way that made Nate’s bones itch in arousal. 

Nate had to touch him at that, putting one knee on the bed behind Ray’s prone body and laying a reassuring palm against the small of Ray’s back. He daubed some of the excess lube against Ray’s hole before easily pushing two fingers into him. 

He should have been familiar with the feel of Ray’s body by now, but it was like it was the first time each time; he’d never be used to the way Ray just gave the way he did. 

“Give him another one.” Brad told him, and Nate did as though he was helpless to refuse. Ray’s breath came carefully, but he just shifted a little so that his head was resting on his crossed arms and took it. 

“Beautiful.” Brad spoke again, not specific about who he meant. “Spread your fingers apart in him Nate, open him up.” 

Nate did as he was told, fascinated by how easy it was, how pliant Ray had become. “You feel so fucking good Ray.” He praised, feeling the way it made Ray shiver the same way he did when he was being degraded. 

“Feels good.” Ray echoed back, sweat beading on his back already. 

“Nate.” Brad said, getting his attention so that he moved when Brad joined him with one knee on the bed. Brad used one hand to pull Ray open further, exposing the place where Nate’s fingers sunk into Ray’s body. 

He added a single slicked finger into Ray alongside the three Nate already had there, Nate watching as though it wasn’t really happening. 

Ray made a quick, high sound and Nate stopped any motion he was making. “Brad.” He said, unsure. 

“He took this before, remember?” Brad reminded him. He moved his lone finger out and when he pushed back in he took Nate’s three with him; Nate felt the way Ray’s back curved further with the hand that still rested there. 

“Another one Ray.” Brad warned before he soothed the taut skin of Ray’s hole with his thumb, opening him just enough that he could fit a second finger there. 

Ray whimpered loudly, open-mouthed, and his fingers bunched the sheets under him when his hands curled into fists. 

“Fuck, Brad…” he said, sounding a little overwhelmed. 

Nate’s hand had stopped moving, but Brad was making tiny, patient but insistent nudges. 

“Good boy, Ray. Just what we wanted, yeah? Nate watching you take my fingers. He can feel what you’re like inside, how it looks to stretch you out, how good you’re being, letting us do this to you.” He leaned down and kissed the rise of Ray’s pelvis. “Sweet boy.” He praised, genuinely, and Ray relaxed with a loud sigh, the grip of his body suddenly lessening. 

“Yeah, there you go baby, let us in, let us get you ready. We talked about this, remember? Not going to let you hurt yourself because you can’t wait to take it.”

Ray’s forehead dropped to press against the bed under him and Nate cricked his fingers into him almost involuntarily, prompting a strangled noise.

“Really?” Nate asked Brad, serious, and Brad nodded to him; if he was feeling apprehensive he didn’t look it. “Fuck.”

Brad rubbed Ray’s back beside Nate’s stationary hand and shushed Ray through taking all five fingers at once. “Don’t want to hurt you sweetheart, that’s all. We’re not going to hurt you, and you’re going to love it when it happens Ray. Remember how it felt when you took my fist in you? Did you think it could get better? It’s going to be even better than that Ray.” He promised. 

The noise Ray made was basically a sob. 

“Okay, okay. I’m going to move first, okay?” Brad spoke to them both, gently drawing his fingers out of Ray and stepping back.

“Nate, come here.”

Nate also removed his fingers from Ray’s body, and he had to kiss him because the sound he made was so bereft, his mouth making contact against the side of Ray’s thigh. He stood back and Brad motioned him to take his former place at the head of the bed, back to the headboard. 

He stopped Nate on the way to take hold of his chin and kiss him deep, taking advantage of the fact that Nate was already trembling from what they had done and what they were about to do. His breath came short.

Ray nearly fell when he lost Nate’s fingers, but Brad caught him up with an arm around his waist again and then manhandled him upright. He tugged at Ray’s hair only a moment before Ray craned his head back, passive, and Brad licked into the slack of his mouth more than actually kissing him. 

“You’re going to be good for us Ray, yeah?” he said against Ray’s ear, Nate only seeing the way Ray nodded, how he’d gone quiet. “Tell me your safeword.” 

Ray’s voice was lethargic but his answer was clear. “Purple.” 

Brad kissed the side of his head, a gesture that would stand out in Nate’s mind afterwards like a single painted fingernail, and then turned Ray on the bed. “Good boy.” He scrubbed his fingers through Ray’s hair and then nudged him until he started moving towards Nate. 

“Get him settled in your lap, Nate.” Brad told him, and Nate took the weight of Ray’s body against his own, almost familiar now. He reached to hold Ray’s head in place to kiss him, but Ray was already there, his hand curled against the side of Nate’s face just for the contact while he did. 

Brad came up behind Ray, kneeling on the bed, and reached down to lift Ray up on his knees. Ray grabbed for stability and Nate guided his hands so that he was holding on to Nate’s shoulders, Ray’s fingers over the rouged bruises Brad had bitten there earlier. 

“You want Nate’s cock, Ray?” Brad asked, his voice breathless just like the others were. Ray looked down at Nate and nodded like he was in a daze, but those familiar dark eyes looked right into Nate’s own, more intense than anything they’d done yet.

“Ask for it.” 

“Nate, I want your cock, I fucking need it Nate, please. You fingered me so open, I’m so empty, fucking need a cock to fill me back up, please Nate, I need it, I _need_ it, I’m fucking aching for it Nate, fuck.” 

Nate had said he’d wanted to hear Ray, but it was the genuine desperation in the words Ray said that made him hard, that made him reach out meanly and flick his thumb against one of Ray’s nipples to make him start. 

“Fine, come on then.” Nate said, faux perfunctory.

“Nu-uh.” Brad stopped Nate moving to press himself into Ray. “He wants it so badly he can take it himself. Go on, Ray; you’re the one begging for it, don’t make Nate do all the work” 

Ray groaned, and Nate might have said it was from frustration if not for the fact that Ray had leaned so far into submitting for them. Nate felt the trembling of his hand through his dick, but he made no noise as he watched Ray stroke him a few times before holding it steady. 

Nate’s cockhead skidded wet and bare against Ray’s skin until Ray got the right angle to let it push into him as he sat down. He could feel the extra give that they’d fingered into Ray, and it was enough to make Nate’s hips kick up into him once before either of them were ready. 

Nate held himself still and Ray almost curled up against him, resting his head against shoulder so that Nate could see the top of his head. The damp of his hair made it curl a little in places and Nate was struck with a hard lash of affection for him; he cradled one his hand against the back of Ray’s head and ran the other soothingly down the wire of Ray’s spine. 

Ray breathed short and wet against Nate’s skin, less because of the weight of Nate inside him and more because anticipation constricted his chest.

Brad smiled at the sweet protective curve of Nate’s hand against Ray’s dark hair and felt the trust in his former CO as an immovable force inside him. 

He reached out to make contact with the damp, quivering skin of Ray’s tense back, his fingers ghosting briefly over Nate’s hand before settling against Nate’s neck. He leaned close for a kiss, and when they parted he didn’t shift back.

Ray was held between the closed palms of their bodies and Brad only made enough space to be able to feel down and run lube against the shaft of Nate’s cock where it met Ray’s skin. 

Nate held his breath when he felt the first exploratory, invasive nudge of Brad’s index finger against his dick, nothing to the shake he felt rattle through Ray. Brad kissed the vulnerable bones at the back of Ray’s neck and Nate reached to stroke Ray’s cock without being asked as Brad kept pushing, insistent and certain. 

The further Brad moved, the less give Nate felt in Ray’s body. He kept the hand he had in Ray’s hair where it was, clutching him close when Brad withdrew his finger and then tried again with the tips of two. 

Ray turned his head towards Nate’s neck, and Nate could feel the little sips of his breath there, short and sharp, mute. The formerly easy glide into Ray’s body had become a constricted grip, and it was clutching down on him harder as Brad moved deeper. 

Brad was breathing heavily himself, in concentration and at the feel of the resistance of Ray’s body, suddenly aware of the enormity of the responsibility he was taking on. He’d seen Ray take his fist, he knew he could take this, he knew it. He pressed gently at the walls of muscle around his fingers, coaxing them into yielding to the inevitable push. 

It seemed to last for hours until Brad could move his fingers without feeling Ray struggle, but it wasn’t enough; he wanted to get three in there with Nate’s cock to make sure that Ray was ready enough.

He withdrew his fingers, not missing the sigh of relief that Nate made, the tiny sound Ray let out against Nate’s neck, and generously squeezed more lube onto his hand. 

He made sure his fingers were coated enough to remove any friction and then reached back down to slowly remind Ray’s body that it had already allowed this intrusion, that it could do it again. 

Nate felt his own body hot and damp with his sweat; Ray’s temples were beaded with it. He was circling his thumb in gentle swipes over the head of Ray’s cock in hopes of distracting him and getting him to relax, stroking down to the base intermittently where Ray’s erection had started to flag. 

He felt two of Brad’s fingers line back up against his cock, felt them shift out and back into Ray like it was his own body, and then felt the ludicrous ache of a third fingertip.

Ray’s breathing came in little hiccups against Nate’s neck, his fingers curled so tight against Nate’s arms that Nate would find little crescent bruises there for a week afterwards. Nate had never heard Ray so silent, and his body bracing itself like that was just working against him. 

Nate licked up the side of Ray’s neck to his ear, tickling around it with the tip of his tongue because he hadn’t seen Brad do that and he wanted to see if Ray liked it. Ray squirmed a little, tilting his head to that side like he wanted to escape the touch, like it tickled.

He gasped then when his body let Brad’s third finger in, burying his head against Nate’s shoulder. 

“Brad…” Nate said through clenched teeth himself, the force around his cock almost too much between those fingers and Ray’s own tension. 

“I know, I know.” Brad panted, also breathless and on edge. “Ray, fuck, watching you take it, seeing how bad you want two cocks up inside you that you’d let us do this to you. Is this even going to be enough? We should have had someone to shove their cock down your throat too. Would that finally make you happy, fucked full, so fucking stuffed with cock that taking a fist feels easy?”

It was almost too mean for Nate until he realised that Brad was three fingers into Ray and all Ray had done was pant against Nate’s neck. His cock was hard again in Nate’s hand, the way it leaked making each stroke up easier; Nate realised that Brad was talking more for Ray’s sake than for his own. 

“Of course he’d need more, you heard him beg for dick before. He asked for your fucking fist in him Brad, he came on it like a filthy slut. He’s going to love taking us, he’s going to be so happy bouncing on two cocks like a fifty-cent whore getting his brains fucked out.” 

Nate wasn’t sure if Brad was more surprised than Ray was, but he felt Ray moan against his neck and the way that punishing tightness eased a little. 

“There it is, that’s good for you, right baby?” Brad almost sought reassurance from Ray, bending to kiss Ray’s damp shoulder with devotion. 

Ray neglected to speak, just nodding against Nate.

Brad rocked his fingers carefully inside Ray, against the side of Nate’s cock in a manner that made Nate shiver. He was relieved when Brad pulled his hand away completely; it had been getting easier for Brad to move and that was making it more likely that Nate would come too early, only his slight anxiety about the situation having stopped him already.

He watched Brad stroke his cock with the hand he’d just had up inside Ray and then literally pour more lube over his dick until it dripped down onto the bed. Brad was determined to make this as easy for Ray as possible. 

Even then, Nate was still worried they’d hurt him, despite both Brad and Ray’s assurances to the contrary when they’d discussed this; he might have been able to do this with a stranger at one of the clubs he used to frequent, but he felt a fierce protectiveness over his men that had him hesitate.

Brad must have seen it because he stopped, the weight of his cock resting against the base of Ray’s spine. 

“Ray, say your safeword for me baby.” Brad asked. 

Ray murmured it into Nate’s shoulder. “He said turtle.” Nate reported, making Ray’s shoulders twitch in a silent laugh. 

Brad rolled his eyes. “Okay, well you can use it or say red if you need us to stop, okay? Ray, tell me you hear me.” 

Nate let Ray lift his head from where he’d been tucked away against Nate’s shoulder. Ray’s face was a wet mess where he’d been unable to close his mouth, where his eyes had been tearing. “I hear you, Brad. I’ll say ‘purple’ or ‘red’ if I want you to stop.” 

“Good boy.” Brad praised and Nate could almost see how it landed differently to Ray in this headspace. 

“Okay Nate?” he checked, and Nate nodded, stilling his hand on Ray’s cock and sliding it around to stop above Ray’s hipbone, the other still buried in Ray’s hair. 

Brad shifted closer and teased around the edge of Ray’s already full hole with his fingertips. He reached around and flattened his hand out across Ray’s stomach so that Ray felt completely held, holding his cock steady with the other and sliding it up against Nate’s cock to press into Ray. 

All Nate could feel was pressure, the hard, silk feel of skin against his own pushing him inescapably into the hot, soft, delicate tension of Ray’s straining body. 

It was almost painful in the way of flavours that were too sweet toeing the line of discomfort. Nate had never had a hand grip his cock as tight, and he forgot himself, mouthing hard into the shoulder at his mouth. 

He heard a weak surrendering sound and realised he’d just bitten Ray; he was pulled back from the alien feeling of Brad’s cock and it’s inexorable progress up against his dick to realise that Ray was quaking against him almost violently, one hand flung out against the wall behind them like he had to hang onto something or be swept away. 

Ray hadn’t used his safeword and he hadn’t said ‘red’ but Nate was almost close to using his own. Brad’s cock against his in Ray’s body felt fantastic, but he was almost scared for Ray and the feelings together were paralysing. 

They all felt the point where Brad’s cock breached Ray, swallowed up inside him in one smooth motion.

“Motherfucker!” Brad swore, visibly trying to stop himself fucking in. 

Nate shouted and Ray choked on whatever feral, animal noise tried to escape him, his body trying to shift away instinctively from the intense stretch.

“Orange, Brad, orange. Orange, he’s crying!” Nate safe worded out, suddenly frantically terrified but still traitorously hard.

Brad put a big hand reassuringly against Nate’s neck, rubbing his thumb against the pulse point soothingly and feeling the way his heart was kicking. “He’s okay, Nate, he’s okay, we haven’t broken him.” He still smoothed his hand against the taut, quivering solidity of Ray’s stomach and chest, firmly so that Ray would feel grounded.

“Ray?” he asked, cautiously. 

Ray shook his head, but when he looked over at them it seemed to take more effort than it should have. He was definitely crying, his face flooded a hectic red and in complete disarray, but he wasn’t saying his safeword. “Green, I’m green, I’m- god, it’s green.” He hiccupped through little broken sounds, but he looked nearly delirious with how good it felt.

Brad gave them all a moment to adjust, not just to the painful clamp of Ray’s body or the enormity of being so full, but also to the reality of what they were doing. It looked like Ray just needed to catch his breath and remind himself that he wasn’t going to split apart, but Nate was still fizzing with apprehension; he’d been responsible for the welfare of his mean throughout OIF and those instincts were hard to ignore, even in this situation. 

Brad smoothed his hand down the rigid stretch of the arm Ray had pressed against the wall, linking their fingers as he carefully took Ray’s wrist in his hand and curled his arm around Nate’s shoulders instead; Ray clutched at the middle of Nate’s back.

It seemed to do a lot to comfort Nate, and Brad carefully stretched over to kiss the strain out of him. “Are you okay to continue?” 

Nate nodded. 

“I’d never hurt him.” Brad promised, and Nate was momentarily catapulted back to that dark Iraq night when he’d heard noises in a grave and came to the wrong conclusion. “And I won’t let him be hurt.”

Nate hadn’t realised he’d actually been feeling guilt until it released; the worst scenario for him was that his men would be hurt because of his actions, and here he was directly causing one of them discomfort.

“Can’t break me Nate.” Ray spoke up, even if it was mostly into Nate’s collarbone. “’m still a Marine.” 

“Oorah.” Brad concurred, making Nate smile with slight exasperation at the pair of them. 

Ray broke the levity of the moment by rocking his hips side to side, settling down on the most cock he’d ever taken and helpless to stop the sound the feeling brought out of him. “I need to, I need something. We need to move.” He more asked than stated. He felt light-headed and restless, waiting for the wave to break. 

“You need to kiss me.” Nate said before Brad could, but he helped by guiding Ray towards his mouth and instigating the kiss himself; Ray tried his best but every time someone moved he felt his body give in one way and strain in another, like he’d reached his limit on how open he could get. It made his kisses sloppy and unfocused because he wasn’t sure he could close his mouth.

“Fucking hot.” Brad commented, experimentally pushing up into Ray, towards his navel. 

Ray gasped hard and Nate swore at the crowded feeling. Nate couldn’t stop himself moving too, even though Ray’s weight in his lap and Brad against him made it an effort. 

Brad noticed, of course he did, and he reached out with one hand to grip onto Nate’s hip, pulling him in and helping him move under Ray instead. It made Ray choke like they were so far up inside him they were fucking up against the back of his throat.

“How the fuck are you still so tight, we fingered you wide open.” Nate gritted out against Ray’s neck. 

“He just wants it that badly.” Brad threw out, but he’d never sounded this inhibited in his life; it was taking every strand of control he had not to just break and drive up into the impossible feeling of Ray’s body. 

Ray groaned. “Yeah, fuck, I do.” He agreed like it was a surprise to him. It was making him ache bluntly, using muscles he didn’t know could be used like this, but the staggering truth of what was happening to him eclipsed that, made him need the contrast. 

Brad rolled his hips up again and it made Nate twitch up with the slide of it against his cock, making Ray whimper in turn. They moved with the smooth coordination they’d shown in the field until Brad was moving ceaselessly inside Ray like the tide and Nate moved in contradiction. 

Ray grasped Nate to him with his arm still around Nate’s back, the fingers of his other hand desperate on Brad’s thigh.

Brad kept his connection with Nate with the hand on his hip and he still had his other hand flat against Ray’s front. He felt the contraction and release of Ray’s stomach muscles and he started pulling Ray into him when he thrust up. 

Nate’s fingers were still knotted into Ray’s hair but still devout against the curve of his skull. His other hand had settled on the softest inner parts of Ray’s thigh, high up where the joint strained like the rest of Ray’s body as he was moved between them.

Ray moved like he didn’t know if he wanted to sit back deeper or move away. He was helpless under it, a poor swimmer caught in a flash flood. His forehead pressed into Nate’s shoulder and he made attempts to kiss Nate there but they were failing. He could barely keep his mouth closed, open against moans that couldn’t come and leaving wet, messy swatches against Nate’s skin. 

They were painted with the heat between them, their sweat highlighted their tense muscles and the sounds of two bodies trying to fit into one shadowed every move they made. 

Brad had iron control but he knew he wasn’t going to last long. The crush inside Ray had been almost painful, staving off his orgasm, but it was already getting easier the more they leaked into him, the more they slowly shaped Ray’s body open around them. 

Brad licked a line of sweat from Ray’s back and sucked at the nape of his neck. “Nate wanted to hear you, Ray.” He reminded, and while it was almost unkind to make Ray talk right now expletives fell like he’d been waiting to be asked. 

“Oh my god, oh god Brad, I’ve got two cocks fucking stuffed up inside me, I can’t fucking believe it, fuck, it feels so fucking _good_ , I’m fucking drooling for it, fuck, Nate, your cock’s so fucking big. Brad. Brad, can you feel yourself, can you feel you and Nate bumping all huge and hard in my stomach, can you?”

Ray was trembling violently, and his breathing was frantic, his head falling back against Brad’s shoulder and then forward into Nate’s again like he couldn’t make up his mind.

“Jesus Ray, calm down.” Brad cautioned, almost alarmed at what he’d unleashed. 

Nate gripped hold of Ray’s face and pulled it towards him for a deep kiss, working around the control Ray lacked and trying to keep him contained. Ray struggled like he was fighting against it when he was really trying to get more, more of everything. 

Brad tried not to, but he was helpless to stop himself from thrusting harder into Ray, forcefully against Nate’s cock. He could feel the thrill of tension rising up in his body and he didn’t want to fight it anymore.

Ray broke away from Nate and his voice shook almost as much as his body did. “Brad, I love it. I fucking love it.” Ray said breathlessly, like it was a revelation to him, and Brad sank his teeth into the unyielding skin over Ray’s shoulder blade and came in him. 

“Oh shit, shit.” Nate swore and fucked up into Ray, harder and faster than Ray could handle, his grip on Ray’s thigh clenching. Brad felt it when Nate came against his own twitching cock, their come already managing to seep out between them both, out of Ray. 

Nate was reaching down to stroke Ray off, but he was a little late as Ray came untouched with a buck that shook Nate, making a visceral, feral sound at the wet, sloppy feeling of being so flooded out.

He collapsed more than fell against Nate’s front, twitching and moaning like something injured.

“Holy fuck.” Brad swore, shaking as he held a hand around his cock to pull out of Ray as gently as he could, like Ray would fracture. Ray had gone so slack that it was almost too easy to do; the absolute fucking mess they’d made of him was obscene, with come sliding down his thighs, pooling at Nate’s legs, soaking into the bedsheets.

Brad fell back with both arms propping him up, and even that was more effort than it should have been. He felt the itchiness of sweat run from his hair down the side of his face.

Nate made no move to pull out of Ray yet, nuzzling sweetly against Ray’s shoulder as he caught his breath. Nate was beautiful even if he did look wrecked, his hair a riot in a manner Brad had never seen, the red heat of his face making him look young. 

“God.” Nate had to let the headboard take his weight, even though it dug painfully into his back, careful not to crush Ray’s arm where it was still behind him, thankfully hanging much looser than it had. 

Brad was watching them both, still trying to recover, and Nate slid his hands against Ray’s sweat-slick skin to hold him at the waist. Ray slumped further against Nate’s chest and Nate paused for just a moment.

“Brad, Ray passed out.” He informed, immediately alert, his tone steady.

Brad lost his composure, uncoordinated with his muscles still aching as he tried to move to check on Ray. “Fuck, he what? Shit!” He’d been in control this entire time and it was this that made him fall apart; he’d said he wouldn’t break Ray and now he had. 

Nate found it easier to fall into his old leadership role when his men needed him. “He’ll be okay.” He soothed Brad, carefully shifting Ray out of his lap and off him. Brad shuffled back and Nate arranged Ray on the bed with such care it made Brad’s panic ebb.

Nate put his palm against Ray’s chest and Brad couldn’t stop himself touching Ray’s hair. “I think he just hyperventilated.” Nate surmised. “Look, he’s calming down now. I think he’s coming around.” 

Ray groaned and didn’t move other than to tilt his head a little towards Brad’s hand in his hair. He looked vague and disconnected, but awareness was filtering back into his expression already. 

“Hey, welcome back.” Nate soothed, because Brad didn’t seem able to speak. 

“Wh’happened?” Ray asked, his voice slurred but only from his post-coital lethargy. 

“You passed out.” Brad finally found his voice, and it was tight with jagged edges. Ray tried to blink away his stupor and managed enough to take Brad’s hand with his, even if he had to let them both drop to the bed because he didn’t have the strength to lift his hand for long. 

“Awesome.” He breathed and Nate had to laugh. 

“Ray fucking Person.” He said, leaning down to kiss him on the forehead, earning a cheeky smile.

Brad sighed, long and relieved. “You alright?” he asked, soft, relaxing a little when Ray rubbed his thumb against the back of Brad’s hand. 

“I just got fucked unconscious Brad, I’m fucking fantastic.” 

“Ray…” Brad groaned, frustrated and fond. 

Nate had reached over to grab the water bottle they’d used earlier and took a drink before handing it over to Brad. Brad offered it to Ray who shook his head – “Give me a minute, I don’t think I get sit up” – and then gulped it down until it was empty, throwing the bottle into the bin. 

“Three points.” Ray called from the bed. 

“I thought you said you couldn’t get up, how are you running your mouth right now?” Nate asked, a little incredulous. 

“I got DP’d in the ass, Nate, not the mouth.” 

“Are you hurt?” Nate asked, seeing Brad tense up in his peripheral vision. 

“Nah. I mean it aches for sure, I don’t think I’ll be able to sit down for a week, but I’m not hurt.” He looked from Nate to Brad and rolled his eyes. “I’m fine dudes, I’ll live.” 

He sounded honest but he also sounded tired and he’d been passed out a few minutes ago – Brad decided to drop it for now.

“Nate, are you doing okay?” Brad checked, remembering that Nate had safeworded. 

“Well, I think you’ve ruined me for normal sex but otherwise I’m good.” 

Brad gave him that startling smile and then leaned across Ray to pull Nate towards him for an affectionate kiss. 

“Mm, keep doing that.” Ray murmured where he was watching under them and Brad broke the kiss to snort a laugh. 

“Fucking insatiable.”

Ray wiggled his eyebrows at him and Nate stopped him by bending down to kiss him, keeping it light, mindful that Ray had fainted from lack of oxygen. It was nice, easy to kiss him, just like it had been easy to kiss Brad. 

“I think these sheets are fucked.” Brad mentioned almost mournfully.

“They weren’t your favourite ones.” Ray comforted, and the intimacy between them made suddenly Nate feel a little out of place. They’d never actually discussed what would happen after this encounter and Nate wasn’t sure where he stood; the uncertainty rankled him. 

“Well, there’s no getting your lazy hick ass up, so I guess it’s up to me and Nate to do the scut work.” Brad continued. “Don’t think you can get out of it by fainting every time.” 

Ray scowled. “I’m a cold-hearted, emotionless killing machine Brad, I don’t faint. I passed out, no, I _blacked_ out; there’s a difference.” 

Brad swung up off the bed and only faltered for a moment on strained legs before making his way to the en-suite. “Keep telling yourself that Ray.” 

There was the sound of a tap running and Brad moving around, cupboard doors opening and shutting softly. 

Nate was staring at the place where Brad had just stood, his mind far away, chewing over the idea of what would come next. Brad had said ‘every time’, suggesting this was more than a one-time fling, but was that the case? If so, did _he_ want to do this again? He wasn’t sure that was even a question. 

He was pulled out of his reverie by Ray’s hand squeezing his knee. 

“Hey, you okay?” 

Ray’s eyes were soft with genuine concern and Nate knew he’d jump into doing this again if Ray and Brad just asked. He smiled back at him. 

“Yeah, just- this was a lot, you know?” 

He’d expect something flippant but Ray just nodded. “But good?” 

“Fucking fantastic.” He echoed Ray’s earlier words back at him, treated to that familiar endearing grin and those sharp dimples. 

Ray stretched with a groan but stopped short with a hitch when something twinged. Brad took that moment to come out of the bathroom with hand towels and a new sheet. 

“I always knew you were a fucking brain-dead moron Person, but I thought even you’d have the common sense to stay the fuck still after you gave it up to two Marines.”

He handed Nate a warm damp towel and it felt amazing to be able to clean off. Brad had already washed up a little in the bathroom and he used the other towel to gently wipe Ray down, mindful of the little red blushes on his skin that would later turn into bruises like the ones already spattered over him. 

“I could have cleaned that.” Ray said lazily, looking over suggestively as Nate gingerly towelled over his spent cock. 

“You can’t even clean your own ass right now Ray.” Brad pointed out, but he was still gentle with him. 

“Wait, it’s still there?” Ray quipped, startling a laugh out of Nate; Brad had always liked how Nate’s eyes crinkled with genuine mirth when he was caught off guard. 

Ray bit his lip when Brad moved him in a way that hurt unexpectedly, covering the moment the way he always did; by talking. “God, I’m gonna be leaking come for like a week.” 

Brad wiped the towel against Ray’s thighs and briefly stroked the pad of his thumb against the soft swell of Ray’s ass close to his sore hole, making Ray shake his head. “I can’t, Brad.” He implored, and Brad left him alone. 

“I know. I was just… feeling.” 

“These sheets need changing.” Ray said, a sudden subject change but he was clearly ready to sleep. 

“Nate, can you get up?” Brad asked, meaning that as a legitimate question. Nate attempted to and only had to grab the nightstand for a few seconds when his over-exerted legs made him stumble like something just born. 

“Ray, don’t move.” Brad said, wickedly, making Ray let out a sudden bark of delighted laughter – as if he could.

Nate helped Brad strip the bed around Ray’s recumbent form. 

“I could get used to this.” Ray grinned, but he was already trying to get up even if Brad had told him not to, because he hated being even temporarily immobilised.

“Don’t.” Brad said bluntly. 

They got Ray to roll over onto his front on the bared mattress while they finished removing the sheet. Nate wiped Ray’s back down and Brad started fitting the clean, dry sheet back onto the bed, drawing them up and rolling Ray unceremoniously back over so he could finish making the bed. 

“Someone run me a bath?” 

“Tell you what Ray, you can get up from that bed when you can actually close your bow-legs without wincing.” 

“You did this to me!” 

“You literally asked for it.” 

“LT, back me up here.” 

“If I’m still here later, Ray, I’ll run you a bath myself.”

There was a sudden pause and then Ray asked, falsely casual. “You don’t like to hang around afterwards LT?” 

Brad was watching Nate silently but the look on his face showed he wanted to ask the same thing. 

“We didn’t talk about what we’d do after.” Nate said, aiming for even and getting close. 

Brad reached back pre-emptively and put a hand on Ray’s wrist, settling him before he could say anything; Nate realised that Ray was some form of both upset and disappointed. 

“What do you want to do Nate?” Brad asked seriously. 

Nate was uncomfortable; he’d rather talk about what he liked and didn’t like in bed in graphic detail than ask to stay when he didn’t know if they wanted him to. “I don’t want to outstay my welcome.” He started, saw Brad tighten his grip on Ray’s wrist. “But I’d like to stay, if that’s something you’d want.” 

Those few seconds while he was waiting for someone else to talk were the longest he’d ever felt, including tough times in Iraq.

Okay, maybe not, but it felt like it in that moment.

Of course Ray was the first to speak, of course he was. 

“You’d better stick around Nate; Brad never wants to cuddle.” 

And of course Ray cleared the air with humour too, the way he always did. 

“If you find cuddling with a drooling, sharp-edged, impossibly angular, pointed clothes horse of a motherfucker comfortable, Nate, I’m not going to stop you.”

And Brad did the same with his insults. 

“I’ll be happy to take that bullet.” Nate smiled, cold with relief.

**Author's Note:**

> It's always hard for me to follow up one part of a series with another, I hope it met expectations!
> 
> Watch this space for more parts including the first time Brad and Ray hooked up and some Rank/Consent play including Nate again. 
> 
> As always, thank you for reading and thank you if you take the time out to comment


End file.
